The New Generation
by burgerkingpolicedepartment
Summary: When superpowers are a commonality, most may think they have seen everything. However, when a powerless billionaire from Gotham City, the last surviving alien from his home planet, Krypton, and a princess from the mythological island, Themyscira, begin their journeys to becoming the next generation of heroes they have to contest with the next generation of villains.
1. Times Have Begun to Change

**Kansas**

The old, green truck screeched to a sudden halt, rubbing against the pavement of the long, mostly barren, Kansas road. The heat was visible, shifting vision in the distance and creating an illusionary reflection from the road of the clear, blue sky. The truck was surrounded by a field of corn on the right of it and wheat to the left. Inside the truck, an older man was already turned to the back seat, where a boy with black hair and blue eyes shifted awkwardly.

"You signed up for _what _now?!"

The boy sighed, then muttered, "I knew this wasn't going to end well."

The woman in the passenger seat turned to the man, putting her hand on his shoulder, "Jonathan, please."

"No, Martha, I ain't letting this go!" He trained his eyes back on the boy, "Repeat what you just said, Clark Kent. Now!"

The boy wanted to shrink into his seat. "I," He had to take a deep breath before continuing, "signed up for a foreign exchange program."

"We went over this many times, son, you ain't going to that school! End of discussion!"

"But, Dad, I can make a huge difference in the world if I went! You're always telling me that I'm going to change the world and I think this is it!"

Martha pushed her sand-colored hair out of her face, looking to her husband, "Jon, dear, you can't just blow him off like that."

He turned to her, an offended look plastered on his face, "Don't you take his side now," he turned around, placing his hands on the wheel and shifting gears from parked to drive, "I know this is the way society has been for a while, but violence only begets more violence. I won't let you be part of that vicious cycle! Period."

The boy knew he wasn't getting anywhere from there. He crossed his arms, accepting a bitter defeat once again.

**Gotham City**

The spotlight shone brightly in his face, making it difficult to see the live audience in front of him. The cheers were enough to let him know, however, that there were plenty of men and women in front of him. To his left, a woman with blonde hair and green eyes was smiling towards a camera, waiting for the red light to blink on. She was fixing the last of her make-up, making sure she looked good for the small screen.

The woman turned to the boy after she clasped the foundation capsule shut, "Are you sure you're ready? This is kind of a big deal for you, too."

The boy nodded, giving the woman a smirk. "Is there a better way you can think of to tell Gotham I'm back in town than the _Vicki Vale Show_?"

She smiled, nodding to him, "Better than Jack Ryder's show, that's for sure."

One of the crew members signaled to the two on stage. In response they got into their respective positions, both smiling towards the camera.

"We're live, in five, four three, two…" The crew member put two fingers up at the respective number, then lowered the second finger silently before clenching his fist. When the fist clenched, the red light on the camera came to life, signaling the Vicki Vale to start.

"Hello, fellow Gothamites! I'm Vicki Vale, and this is the _Vicki Vale Show!" _Artificial clapping ensued, the host waving at an audience that was there only in spirit behind their TV screens. Once the clapping settled down, she leaned forward, the camera zooming forward towards her, "Now, I've got a little secret to tell you all, something that took precedence over our original interview with the famous actor and one of many great heroes of Gotham City, Clayface."

She leaned back, tilting her head down as solemn music played in the background, "A mere six years ago, there was an incident involving one of the wealthiest families in the world. A mother, a father, and their son were caught in a mugging in the infamously dubbed, Crime Alley. The parents were shot in the dark, murdered in cold blood to satiate his own greed, leaving their son to fend for himself in the streets until the police and heroes were able to arrive on scene!" She closed her eyes, giving a small pause to allow for the music to die down. "That boy, a mere two weeks after this incident seemingly disappeared, hadn't been seen again and was presumed dead by police and whose belongings were left to a friend of the family."

She opened her eyes, staring down the camera, "If only we had this boy here today to tell his side of the story, right Gotham? Well, wish granted…"

The camera zoomed out even further and strafed to the right of the person next to the host. The camera, once he was in view, switched to another of a close up of his face, to which he smirked towards.

"Please welcome Bruce Wayne back to Gotham City from the dead!" Vicki Announced, the artificial cheering bursting from the background.

The billionaire waved to the camera and continued to smile, even as the clapping receded. As it did, he turned towards the host with the grin still on his face, "Please, Miss Vale, you make it sound a lot more thrilling than it really was."

"How about this; you call me Vicki and we'll let you tell your side of things to Gotham, deal?"

"That sounds fair to me," the boy laughed under his breath before crossing his left leg over his right, "But it really wasn't as interesting as you make it out to be. I simply had to leave Gotham for a while. I went to a place where I could be secluded, to reflect and come to peace with the horrific deaths of my parents." By this point his face had become more solemn than what it was when he started, "I was only eight years old then, and I couldn't really function as well after it."

The woman nodded, "Indeed, I can't imagine what it must have been like for you. I hope it didn't get in the way of your schooling, then."

Bruce nodded, smiling back to the woman, "I had plenty of resources where I was to get the proper education, but the best thing for me there was getting rest and therapy."

"I suppose it would be difficult for you to continue normally with such a weight on your shoulders. I'm sure everyone at home have their sympathies towards you, Bruce." Vicki sat back in her chair, a smile falling back on her face, "So, what are some of your plans coming back to Gotham City outside of school?"

**Kansas**

_"Well, Vicki, I was hoping to throw a party here next week, inviting some of the Pro Heroes and other wealthy families from around the world." _The boy in the loose suit smiled to the camera, _"It's important to know who the best is before donating to them, after a-."_

The television shut off and the farmer sighed while placing the remote on the counter next to him. He looked back at his son, then to his wife. Then he grunted to himself, "Everyone is obsessed with this hero business."

Clark picked up his empty plate, motioning towards the kitchen, "That's because they do really good work protecting people."

"Watch your mouth, young man! You're on thin ice after what you pulled."

The boy continued his way towards the kitchen with a quick, "Sorry, sir." Under his breath.

Jonathan glanced at his wife, who was staring at the farmer, "Why are you taking his side on this? You know why I'm doing this."

"Because Clark was right earlier, he can do great things, and if he feels like this is it, we should be supporting him in that." Martha stood, taking her plate and her husband's, "He's different than us, dear, he's strong and fast just like that American hero that went to Japan. What was his name, Tall Might?"

The farmer grunted in response, scratching the top of his head.

"Your quirk is just being able to speak to machinery, all I can do is weave threads with my mind, but our son, our miracle to the world, I know that if he put his mind to it, one day, he'll be able to rest the whole world on his shoulders and carry its burdens."

"Martha, that's a bit much to put on the boy."

"I don't mean now, but one day, when he's stronger, he'll be the one to be a superhero among the Professional Heroes. I just know it." The mother kissed the father on the forehead, "You know it, too."

With a sigh, the farmer looked up in defeat, "I'll think about it, dear."

**Gotham City**

The night had settled, and the three men were sprinting through alleys of the Narrows, one of the slums of Gotham. The one in front was carrying a bag of money in a fist that resembled a crab's claw. The man directly behind him had spikes growing from the backs of his hands, prepared for any attack from police or any of the pro heroes. The last man seemed pretty normal, with no distinguishable characteristic separating him from the quirkless.

The clouds overhead scattered drops of water across the rooftops of Gotham. This weather had been holding like this for about an hour or two, the puddles and streams made their debut for the night as they made their ways into any cracks or into the drains that lead to the sewers. Lightning sounded as it pleased, catching on buildings high above and the thunder spreading throughout the night sky. Sirens almost always made up the background noise of the city in addition to the honking of horns and the occasional gun shot. Tonight, the sirens were coming from the Narrows, and seemed to follow the three crooks as they splashed through puddles and small crowds of the homeless to escape the officers.

The three eventually made their way into an abandoned building where squatters made their home and sat in wait for anything. The scrambled up stairs into the fourth story, taking a breath inside of a hall which connected to multiple open apartment doors.

The man with the money slammed into the wall, sliding downwards onto his rump. "What the fuck happened to the driver, huh?"

"I don't know, Lenny! His car was there, the guy just wasn't."

The claw man sneered at the boring-looking crook, "Oh, what, so our driver decided to take a piss or grab a cup o' Joe while we were committing a HEIST!"

The spiked man shushed the two, "Will you idiots keep it down? I don't want some hero coming in here and taking us on. This place ain't exactly full of escape routes."

"Yeah, alright. I just gonna call Randy, maybe he returned to his car."

The man pulled out a flip phone, dialing the number and placing the phone on his ear. The phone picked up almost immediately, "Hey, Rand, where'd you go you-?"

_"Randy will be with you soon." _A voice unfamiliar to the crook broke through. It sounded more like a growl than a voice, sending shivers up his spine.

"Woah, woah, woah, is this a pro hero? Which one are you? Clayface? Maybe you're that Mr. Freeze guy?"

_"I'm not a hero." _The call ended.

"What the fu-?"

The ceiling above the three men broke through, and dust circled them. They coughed and the man with the money stumbled to his feet with a yelp. The spiked man pulled out his phone, turning on his flashlight and shining it over whatever it was that fell in. On the ground was a man with his mouth and eyes in switched positions, his left eye blackened and a few fresh, small cuts visible on his head.

A gasp came from the bland criminal, "Oh, no way. That's Randy!"

"How the hell is he here?"

The flashlight went up to the hole, but nothing was on the floor above except for dust. The men exchanged looks, all of them sharing a small sweat as the situation became clear.

"I'm right here." The same growl.

The three men screamed before what looked like a shadow whipped between them all, over the body on the ground and through to the man with the money. It didn't stop at the man, as it pushed him through and into the wall he was slumped on, causing more dust to circulate into the air. On instinct, the spiked man aimed his hand at the fresh hole, spikes forming on his palm and shooting out into it. Three spikes flew in before the other criminal shoved his arm down.

"What are you doing? What if you hit our guy?"

"Whatever, let's get outta here!"

The two bolted towards the stairs headed down, leaving the money and their man behind. It only took about three seconds to get to the stairs, and only half a second more for the stairs to explode, flinging chippings and splinters into the air! Another set of screams came from them both as they both jumped back onto the floor before the stairs, opting to head upwards as their only alternative.

"Must be a team of them!" The spiked thug suggested as he led them both up the stairs.

"No, no! That isn't it!"

The leader turned back, "What, you know who this is?"

"Kind of, it's a rumor." The spiked man rolled his eyes, but the other persisted, "I'm being serious, they say something was brought into Gotham, something else other than a guy with a quirk."

"Are you stupid or something? I mean, I knew you were dumb, but this is a bit too far even for you."

The two finally ended on the top floor, the former leader taking a knee and aiming his arm at the stairwell.

The other continued, pacing behind him, "I'm being serious, they say that this thing is different, that it's more than a guy with a quirk."

"Maybe he has two quirks then. That happens all the time, either way it's just a guy."

"Karl said that his cousin investigated a drug lab and it was completely torn down by this thing. Said that there were ten guys in that place, all with quirks, and they were all broken to hell!"

The knelt man turned back, "He was investigating for the Falcone family, right? Must'a been a shit show when he reported back to Falcone himself."

"Yeah, that's what I'm sayin' that there's some back bone to this!" He knelt with the spiked man, "This thing is different."

The first thug shrugged off in reply and turned back to the stairwell, "You and Karl are full of it, there ain't no such thing as anything like that unless it's a guy with a quirk, and if it's some hero I'm killing him!"

He sat there, silent for a few seconds waiting for the opposition to jump up the stairs.

He waited.

Waited still for any sign of movement.

Nothing but darkness.

He tilted his head back towards his friend, "Hey, you think I got him?"

There was no answer. He frowned, turning back to find himself in the hall alone.

"Frankie?" He whispered into the rooms, but no reply came. He decided to raise his voice a little, "Hey, Frankie, quit messing with me man."

Still no reply.

"Shit."

The spiked man decided to burst up the final flight of stairs, slamming into the door which led to the rooftops. The rain had picked up now, and anything with direct view of the sky was becoming drenched. Through the rain, he could barely see past the rooftop he was on. He slammed the door he came through shut, shooting a spike through the door at an angle, locking it by lodging his projectile into both the door and the brick frame. He took a step back and a deep breath before taking a look at his surroundings.

"C'mon, there's gotta be a fire escape or something!" He spun around, looking for the metal frame. As he scanned the rooftop he was on, something shuffled around on the rooftop ahead of him. "No, that's not possible!"

He aimed his arm and shot more projectiles. Whatever shuffled bolted back and away from where he shot to where he could no longer see it. He spun around, looking for whoever was chasing him.

"Who are you working with, huh? The police? One of the hero associations?"

The only reply he got was more rain slamming against the rooftops and a couple honks from the city. By now, his heart was in his throat.

_This isn't how this is supposed to go, heroes have a procedure! Even Gotham's heroes follow it to an extent._

The criminal spun again, catching glimpse of a shadow move again, this time on the opposite building. He shot again, not even sure if he was aiming at the right place, but just sure that it moved away. It slinked back into the rain and darkness.

"C'mon you freak, tell me what you want from me!"

"Fine."

The spiked formed from his back in a start. Before he knew it, his legs were swept from under him and he landed on his back, piercing the formed spikes back into his back. The thug groaned in pain, looking up at a black figure as it grasped his ankle with enough force to make it feel like it was on the verge of breaking. Then a tug at his leg began to pull him along the water that puddled the rooftop and pulled him closer and closer to the edge of the rooftop. The thug pulled his arm up, ready to shoot another projectile at the figure, but was met with another hand grabbing his wrist and twisting it unnaturally around. As soon as something popped a bit too loudly for the criminal's liking, he howled out into the sky.

"You're finished as a hero, this is too far! I'm suing you so hard for-!"

The man was grabbed by the neck, pulling him up and over the edge of the rooftop, an easy seven stories high. His adrenaline pumped intensely into the back of his head and he frantically kicked around as he grasped the forearm of his assailant.

"Stop! Please, I'll do anything just don't kill me!"

He looked back at the figure, whose face lowered, "How do I find Karl?"

**Kansas**

Martha, Jonathan and Clark were sat at the dinner table in what felt like torture for Clark. He scratched the back of his neck, sure that he was going to get the last piece of lecturing before bed. His father's hands were folded over one another, his mother sat next to him sipping on a glass of water. Clark could only take a deep breath before placing his hand on his knee, parallel with the other hand. As the clock ticked and the crickets chirped outside, time seemed like it was at a crawl.

His mother was the first to speak up, towards Jonathan, "Dear, you have to say something."

"I know, Martha, I know." He locked eyes with their son, then took a breath of his own, "Look, Clark, you-."

"I'm in trouble, right? I know how much you hate the idea of me going to a school so far away for something like this, but I know I can help people!" Clark perked up, "I mean, I lift up the tractor all the time, and that thing weighs tons!"

"Clark! What have I said about interrupting others when they're talking?"

"Sorry, sir."

A sigh came from the man's mouth, then he scratched the back of his own neck, "Your mother and I, we talked about this a little more. Even though we don't exactly agree with it, we believe it's also important to respect other people's dreams and-."

"We're going to allow you to go to this school." Martha interrupted, a smile on her face towards her son.

"Martha, I just scolded him on interrupting."

She turned back to Jonathan, "You were stalling, Jonathan."

Clark jumped up, his eyes practically shining, "Wait, really?! You're letting me go to the school!"

"On one condition." Jonathan stepped in.

"O-oh, what's that?" Their son sat back down.

Martha placed a hand on Clark's, her smile faded, "We have something we need to tell you, something serious."

"Um, Mom, you're scaring me a little bit."

His father leaned forward, looking Clark in his blue eyes, "You know how your mom and I always said you came down from Heaven?"

"I guess, what does that have to do with this?"

Martha replied, "Well, we weren't lying exactly. You aren't…"

Jonathan placed a hand on his wife's shoulder, "What your mother is trying to say is that you came from outer space to us as a baby."

There was silence for a second, but Clark began laughing nervously, "I didn't think you two were such good actors! But, you guys could have picked a better time to tell jokes."

But his parents never started laughing. His mother even began to cry and his father held his head down with his eyes closed.

"You guys aren't joking." Clark pressed his hand against his head and began shaking it slightly, "So, I'm an alien? I'm sorry, but that just doesn't make any sense. I've just got really good quirks is all, that's what you both have always said. I'm just like everyone else."

Jonathan stood up, "Maybe we ought to show you rather than tell you."

His father lead him into the barn, standing right before the middle of the floor, which was clear of most of the dirt and didn't have the tractor Clark mentioned earlier parked. He gestured towards the floor.

"You're young, pick up the floorboards for me."

Clark nodded, kneeling down and lifting the wood boards. As he set them aside, the weight of what his parents had just told him began to sink in. Each board that he moved revealed more and more of the object that solidified the truth. By the time he removed the last board, it was already in clear view. It was a smooth, chrome disk in the shape of a narrow teardrop. The only exception to the chrome metal was a symbol, one that looked like a 'S' inside a diamond.

"Clark," The boy looked up to the farmer, "this is the ship we found you in, this is your heritage. This is you."

Clark looked back at the ship and the symbol, "What does this mean?"

"I don't know, Clark. That's for you to figure out."

"Clark?"

He turned back to his mom, who was holding what looked like clothes in her arms as she trudged towards him, "This is the only thing other than you we were able to uncover from this ship."

It seemed to be mostly blue with a red and yellow metal symbol that perfectly matched that which was on the ship. The blue seemed to outline his body with an indent, as if to emphasize the muscle groups. Above the symbol was another red cloth, which seemed to be about as large as the blue material.

The woman was still in tears while she passed the material off to him. He looked at her, then the other farmer. He smiled, hugging Martha lightly, "This must have been hard for you both, but you're still my parents. I love you both."

**Gotham City**

The criminal hung from the edge of the rooftop by his belt, unconscious. Rain trickled off his exposed back and soaked all of his clothes, which were slightly pink in a few places from the small amounts of blood leaving the holes in his back. The red and blue blinding lights spun off the police cruisers, reflecting off the rain and the reflections of the windows. Three out of the four bank robbers were already out of the building and being questioned. One was found blown through a floor with a black eye and a broken rib, another was found against the wall of a room whose wall had been rammed through using the defeated crook. The third was found with a concussion and a sprained hand.

It was clear who did this from the anonymous tip they got for the building and the fact no one was killed in the apprehension.

"The commissioner isn't gonna like this one, lieutenant." The officer in question's partner remarked. "What do you make of this, Gordon?"

Jim Gordon scratched the stubble on his face, turning to Harvey Bullock and gesturing towards the cruiser. They both piled in, Harvey taking the driver sear and Gordon taking passenger.

"I think that this bat character must have one amazing quirk. Think back on what he's done so far; he takes on dozens of guys with quirks-."

"Including cops and heroes, mind ya."

"But no trace of his own quirk in any scenes they mention the "bat man."

Harvey laughed, "Batman! That's the first one you've come up with that doesn't sound like dogshit."

Gordon sighed, lighting pulling out a pack of cigarettes and smacking them against his hand, "Bite me, Harv, I'm in charge of chasing a ghost, not naming him. That's the journalist's job."

"Yeah, alright, fine." Harvey started the ignition, turning over the engine and pushing forward and off the crime scene. "I'm starting to think this guy is a bit off out pay grade."

"You and I both." James pulled out his lighter, setting the end of the paper, tobacco-filled tube on fire. He sucked in the initial puff as he snapped the lighter shut and exhaled. "That's why I'm glad for Bruce Wayne's return."

"Bruce Wayne? Hold on, didn't he die?"

"His parents did," Jim inhaled and exhaled the cigarette, "He's back in town though, and he's throwing a charity party for the Pro Heroes and the like to donate to schools. It's the biggest story in town, it's probably going to take our vigilante off the front page."

As the car approached the stoplight, the light turned red. In response, Harvey turned on his police siren and lights and drove through it anyways, turning it off once they were through the light, getting a sigh from Gordon that was unnoticed by the driver.

"Alright, so Brucie is inviting a bunch of the big shots, what good does that do us? It's not like we can just waltz in there as if we belong."

"Maybe not, but my hope is that Mr. Wayne's memory wasn't warped from the trauma of his parents."

There was silence for a second, then the gears in his head visibly began to turn as he perked up, "Wait, you were the detective that was a part of that case! I remember now, it was like your first month with the badge." He turned the wheel into the drive through of a fast food place, "So, you gonna go up to Wayne manor and beg for an invitation?" The car stopped at the speaker, "You want anything?"

Jim shook his head, "No, the wife wants me to watch my eating." Gordon pulled the cigarette out of his mouth, tapping over the ashtray before putting it out in it, "Also, no, I'm going to ask him to relay the message to any of the pro heroes that are attending the charity."

"Suit yourself."

**Kansas**

Clark was still sitting in the barn. By now, both his parents have gone back inside the house, but Clark decided to stay outside. It didn't take long for him to open the ship, as him brushing over the symbol on the ship with his hand made the symbol itself power on. It began to glow a light blue, prompting the shutter of the ship to pop up and slide over the other side of the hull. When the door was fully open, something inside the ship began to power on.

A smaller light burst to life, and a picture of a man with a suit and symbol on his chest that matched the symbol on the ship. The only differences being the suit was black and the symbol was white. The man had black hair and blue eyes, much like Clark. There was no mistaking it, the man on the projection was his real father.

_"My son, by now you must have discovered the truth of your origin. You come not from Earth, but from another world. My name is Jor-El, I am from a planet called Krypton of which by now has seen its demise. I'm sure you have many questions, I will try to answer as many as I can. Your real name is Kal-El, as such you are a part of the House of El. This is represented by the symbol on the ship and the garments I placed with you as a memento, and the symbol upon my chest. This symbol represents hope on Krypton, and now you can continue this ideal by giving hope to those on planet Earth." _Clark took a second to look at the symbol on the suit in his lap, brushing over the symbol with his hand, _"You may notice yourself with abilities that overcome even the abilities of some humans on Earth. This is due to the Sun Earth inhabits, the yellow Sun combines with Kryptonian physiology and will empower you to great extents, but to which extents I am unsure. Protect Earth and its people, give them hope where none can be found. I know you will do great things, Kal-El. I love you, my only son. Live on and be strong."_

By the time the hologram ended, Clark couldn't stop the tears from rolling down his face. He wiped his cheeks with his sleeve, sniffing his nose and pressing his hand on the projector.

"I will make you proud, Father. I'll represent you and what you stood for proudly! I promise."

**Gotham City**

Standing in his study, blood trickling down his arm where the grey of the suit was a figure standing at about 178 centimeters. The mask with two pointed appendages was thrown onto the floor and he stood watching the picture of a man with black hair and a mustache with light greying next to a woman with blonde hair. In front of them both was a boy with black hair and blue eyes. The three of them stood with smiles on their faces in the frame.

The person in the suit turned, meeting the butler of the mansion face to face. The suit of the figure was mostly grey with a black cape and cowl. In a matching shade of black was a symbol on his chest, one that was in the shape of a bat that only covered the center of his chest. Over his hands was black gloves that covered up to his forearm just before the bend of the elbow. His feet were covered by combat boots which strapped together just tight enough to not allow water from rain to seep into them. His face was mostly saved from any scratches or bruises, besides a small cut on his lip.

The butler, who was wearing the staple black and white suit and bowtie with white gloves over his hands sighed to the person in the suit. "Master Bruce, I don't mean to interrupt, but it seems you've tracked blood from the cave to this lounge."

"Sorry, Alfred. I'll clean it up before I go to bed."

"That's not the part I'm concerned about, sir." The butler marched forward, picking up the mask from the ground, "You're going out there, doing God only knows what. And while I do think it is a good thing that you're putting people in the wrong in their rightful place, I don't think it's a good thing to do so at your own expense!"

"It's the only way to truly protect Gotham, Alfred. If someone else doesn't do it, then I will."

"Sir, you aren't even through high school yet, going on these tirades in order to take your temper out on criminals is not something advisable for anyone, let alone someone like you."

The billionaire lowered his brow, "I know what I'm doing, my predicament is not a hinderance."

"You know I didn't mean it like that." The butler sighed, "I'll clean up the mess, you need to focus on what the next move will be."

The boy marched from the lounge to the study, where pins and thread were already scattered about, connecting some of the bosses of the crime families to small time crooks who work under them, and even connecting the criminals to police officers and some Pro Heroes.

"For now, I need to gather more information. Many of the 'Professional Heroes' and their abilities are scattered across the internet – in some cases some of their fights are included in highly rendered video – including some interviews about some of the things they struggle with the most." Bruce moved to the computer on the desk in the study, opening the laptop and the tabs which contained heroes from overseas, "This charity may be able to give me much better insight on all of them and will be a perfect opportunity to purchase some 'extravagances' that will make things easier both in research and in the field."

Alfred grasped a paper on the wall about a clipping of an asylum patient who underwent major behavioral changes after being admitted. "If you will be able to make things easier after the charity, why go out into the field now, sir?"

Bruce looked up from his laptop and notebooks, "If my alter ego were to emerge after I announced my coming back into town, it's a bit more difficult to cover up that I am indeed the vigilante. However, if I start before I announced myself, it's more ambiguous."

"I believe this is what most would consider paranoia, Master Bruce." Alfred turned back to his ward, "You are a student, after all. No one would suspect someone like you to maintain good grades and being out and about for three quarters of the night."

Bruce sighed, nodding and smiling to the friend of the family, "I suppose you do have a point there, Al."

"Happy to be of service, sir."

"But you know, it is still Summer vacation here, so I think it was still necessary."

"To each their own. Now," The butler beckoned to the door, "Come to the bathroom so I can fix that nasty gash, or I'll give you another one along the way."

Bruce laughed a little, setting down his pen and following the lead of the butler. Tonight, he had done enough.

"Tomorrow night, I'm going after a lead that may land me right in the wake of Carmine Falcone. He's going down this month."

Alfred sighed, patting the billionaire on the back and closing the door to the study for the night.


	2. Investigations and Acceptance

**Gotham City**

The pollution in the air was something to behold. In all the time Shota Aizawa had been in Japan, which by his count had just a bit higher of a population than this city, he hadn't ever actually smelled the smog travelling in the air unless he was at an industrial site doing an investigation. However, this event was something that not many could pass up even if they wanted to.

The man himself had black hair long black hair tied in a bun and stubble to match the color. His eyes were black with light bags under them as a testament to how tired he was. He had a grey hoodie under a loose burgundy blazer. His pants were black slacks which were equally as baggy as his blazer and would have fallen off his waist had it not been for the belt. His shoes were typical black business shoes.

The teacher from the most prestigious hero academy in the world, U.A. Academy was invited to a charity event by Bruce Wayne among other established Pro Heroes that were ranked pretty high on the leaderboard. Aizawa himself stood next to Nezu, the principal at the same school, and Takami Keigo, the Pro Hero Hawks, who was standing in for All Might who couldn't make it due to circumstance and Endeavor who "didn't want to partake in an excuse for a rich kid to ask for an autograph."

Nezu wore his typical dress clothes. A white dress shirt with a red tie tucked under a black vest with a matching pair of black slacks. Although, he had an orange pair of boots which stood out from the rest of his outfit. He himself seemed like an amalgamation for multiple animals, so the boots weren't too much of a retractor in the end.

Hawks was decided to go with something more casual than either of them, wearing a tan leather jacket with a fur collar and a scarlet v-neck t-shirt to match his quirk, Wings, which gave him bright red wings which he had pulled close to his back. His pants were just a simple pair of jeans and he wore brown leather boots to match with his jacket. He wore sunglasses with a wire frame that tucked into his sand colored hair and had red-tinted lenses.

There were others from Japan that confirmed they would be attending, like Present Mic and Best Jeanist, but they would be coming in to the city closer to the time of the party. For now, the three heroes wanted to go to Wayne Manor to thank the billionaire personally for the charity event. As such, they were looking for a limousine that their host mentioned in his call on their way into the city. According to their host, a man with greying hair and a suit and bowtie should be waiting for them with a sign that would read U.A.

Sure enough, when they arrived on scene a man matching said description stood at the passenger side of the car, which faced the pickup lot. The three heroes met with their chauffeur.

The man was the first to speak up, "You three are the heroes in question, I presume?"

Nezu responded with a nod, "That we are. Might I say, this vehicle is quite the marvel."

"We in the Wayne household believe it is of utmost importance that we accommodate for every person's leisure. You will find there is room behind the seats, in case Mister Keigo would prefer to stretch his wings." The man opened the door to the back of car, gesturing towards the inside, "I hope the refreshments are to your liking, sirs."

The three climbed into the vehicle taking their seats and helping themselves to the sandwiches and drinks while the man closed the door and took the driver seat, "I am the Wayne family's butler, Alfred Pennyworth, in case you were wondering."

The car began to move, making its way to the destination. While the three were in the vehicle, Hawks took advantage of the extra room he had and finally stretched out his wings as he had them tucked in for the plane ride. Nezu grabbed himself a sandwich that was available for the three of them to eat. Aizawa moved to the part of the back that was closest to the driver, peering into the small window that separated the him from them.

"I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but I was wondering why the boy wanted to bring us down a whole week before the event. It would have made more sense for us to arrive a day or two beforehand."

The older man glanced into the mirror with an unfazed look, "I would rather not speak for the young master in his absence. So, unfortunately, you will have to ask him about that directly." The butler's eyes returned to the road, "I apologize if that is unsatisfactory for you."

"I have a feeling," the animal-like principal replied, "It may have something to do with that vigilante that's all over the news. He's caused quite the stir if you ask me."

"Vigilante?" Aizawa frowned.

"Yes," the short passenger nodded, "He's been in many articles for a few days now. No one knows when he actually started taking justice into his own hands, but there are quite nasty rumors about him." Nezu turned to the butler, "I am muddy on the details, though, Mister Pennyworth."

The driver shrugged, "I know no more than snippets from the newspaper before my ward arrived, I'm afraid. And then there was hardly anything on him."

Hawks finally stepped in, staring at his phone, "Well, the closer you get to present day, the more crazy the stories get. Criminals are left hanging from rooftops and in alleys with so many broken bones they have to be incarcerated before having any hearings, if they're necessary."

Shota nodded, "So, he's the brutality type, huh?"

"Do forgive my interrupting," the butler chimed, "But Gotham is a much different place than your country, gentlemen. This vigilante, in turn, is nothing short of tame by our standards."

"Are you endorsing this kind of behavior, Mister Pennyworth?" Nezu inquired.

"I would much rather justice be dealt so the criminal may serve a sentence in the end, that is all." The butler looked back into the mirror again, "Or perhaps you just need the full Gotham experience to truly grasp why it is something like that may not be such a bad thing."

**Kansas**

In the mirror, the Kryptonian couldn't help but smile at the sight of his family's suit. Everything excluding the red cape and the family crest seemed to stretch to fit him with ease. Originally, the Kansas boy was concerned with the size of the clothes as they seemed much smaller than what would normally fit him. But, as he put it on, the material seemed to expand to fit his body perfectly! This seemed like a testament to just how advanced his home planet must have been.

Because of the size of the cape, it being much larger than the rest of his suit, he decided it would be best for it to be left out until he grew into it. The crest was also large, only just barely aligning with where his chest muscles ended. Although, the bottom of the diamond did roll over the top of his core. This wasn't much of a hamper because the symbol, for it feeling like a stiff metal, still curved as his body moved.

Overall, looking at his costume, it looked pretty much like a Pro Hero's suit! That would make it easy when he became a Pro Hero himself, as he wouldn't need anyone to make his suit for him, bringing down any costs of the schooling if that was a part of it. As Clark rotated his arms and moved around in the suit, he was kept off guard by just how easily it moved with him.

"Clark, come down here! We want to see it on you, too!" Martha called out.

The boy smiled, opening the bathroom door, "Coming, Mom! It looks so cool!"

He rushed down the stairs, opting to jump down about halfway. He never landed on the ground, however, floating two feet off the ground and placing two hands on his hips in front of the farmers. With a grin on his face and his chest forward, he nodded to them.

His mother held a wide grin as he placed himself in front of them, placing a mug of coffee on the table in the room. "What happened to the cape, dear?"

"It was too big, but I'll grow into it, right?" After receiving a nod from his mother he pushed his chin forward, "You can call me the Krypto-Warrior!" He said triumphantly.

The farmer gave a small smirk before crossing his arms, "That supposed to be your 'hero name?'"

The alien laughed, scratching the back of his neck, "It's a work in progress. I wanted to see if I could include my home planet in my name, you know?"

That definitely felt strange to say. One part of Clark still had a hard time believing that story, that he was from another planet. He's lived his whole life up until now with the impression he was just gifted with a quirk, which was easy to buy into considering a few stories a few friends from high school told him about where parents had relatively tame quirks and their kid had quirks that seemed unrelated and extraordinary!

Martha clapped her hands together with a smile, "Well, I think it could work. Although, it may sound a tad aggressive."

Clark placed a hand on his chin, nodding as he considered her observation, "Yeah, I see your point. It doesn't really inspire hope, does it?" Quickly, he changed the subject by flexing his right arm, "The suit looks awesome, though!"

The farmer nodded with a sigh, "Yeah, it looks like you're about ready to save the day. A real super hero."

The farmer's wife nodded, grabbing the mug off the table, "Our own super boy." She gave one chuckle before taking a sip.

"'Super boy,' huh?" The Kryptonian mused, crossing his arms before jerking back, "I got it!" He turned back up the stairs, flying upwards so fast he almost had an afterimage of where he once stood.

The farmer ran to the stairs, slamming a foot on the bottom step, "Boy, we've told you before not to go that fast in the house!"

"Sorry, Dad!"

The couple that was left in the dust downstairs exchanged a laugh together before returning to their routine of waking up. Martha sat down on the sofa, drinking her coffee and reading her magazine. Jonathan headed to the front door, opening it so he could go to the barn to tend to the machinery.

**Gotham City**

The foyer was large enough to hold two or three houses on the ground floor alone! The architecture was almost symmetrical, with the stairs being right in front of the three heroes and branching off into either direction. To the immediate left and right of the group was two wide doorways with no doors. The left doorway held a lounge, complete with a fire place, multiple couches that even just by looking at them one could tell they were expensive. There was even a pool table that was visible around the corner of the room! The right doorway was a dining room that was equally as large and held a table that seemed about as long as the whole room that had more chairs around it than Aizawa's extended family, with room to spare.

There were also two halls that led below the stair cases that diverged to the second floor but they were dark so there wasn't much to see there.

One thing was certain, in the few seconds the three had been in the room, the foyer alone was a place none of them would be able to afford in a few lifetimes of work, taking the chandelier into account alone, which they wouldn't have doubted if they were told made of pure diamond. They would be none the wiser.

Their awe was interrupted by the voice of a young boy who emerged from the left side of the stairs leading to the second floor, "Ah! You three must be the heroes; it's a pleasure to meet you all!"

The boy eventually made it to the last step, a smile on his face. Peculiarly, he had a small cut on his lower lip that Aizawa took note of. The three heroes, however, took their bows.

Nezu spoke for the group, "Thank you for gracing us with your time, Mr. Wayne. I hope we aren't imposing."

Bruce bowed in return, "Not at all, Nezu." The four rose from their posturing before the billionaire continued, "I hope the private jet I sent to pick you three up was accommodating."

Hawks replied, giving a chuckle, "Oh, it was fantastic, but you didn't have to go that far for us."

The billionaire waved his hand in front of his face as if to dismiss his comment, "Nonsense, you're my guests! No expense is too high."

The butler marched through the darkness of one of the halls under the stairs, hands behind his back, "I have returned, Master Bruce." He turned to the three heroes, "Shall I prepare a meal and tea for the guests?"

The guests gave the butler their order of tea, refusing the food for the moment, before moving to the lounge where Bruce took his seat on a couch. The three heroes took a seat across from him.

As Aizawa sat down, he pointed to his own lip to reflect the cut on the boy's, "Where did you get that cut? You don't seem the type to get into fights."

"Oh, well, I'm never the one instigating them." The boy felt his lip before going further, "Given my family situation, however, many people see me as an easy target regardless. I'm sure you know how mean kids can be as you're a teacher yourself, Mr. Aizawa."

The man nodded, but the boy continued, "That does remind me, there was a peculiar precedent that was made recently regarding your schools, was there not?"

The principal tilted his head, "I'm not sure I'm following what you mean, which precedent?"

Alfred returned to the room with the tea, placing it in front of each respective person with a 'thank you' following each person as they were given it.

"Those without quirks have recently been given the legal 'OK' to join in the academies." Bruce picked up his cup and took a sip out of it before continuing, "That include the U.A. Hero Academy."

The teacher folded his arms, staring at the boy, "Is this why you invited us this early? To ask if you could join the program?"

There was a pause for a moment, where the teacher and the billionaire stared at each other. Aizawa feared the worst, that with the charity event, he would try to bribe his way through to the school. When considering the idea, the tired teacher thought it crazy, but he has seen a lot of people willing to do crazy in his time. So it wouldn't be too far of a fetch to expect someone like him to join the academy. With his money, it might just be possible for him to make a name.

That, however, would be given he didn't die during the festival alone. The prospects of what could happen were just too great to consider!

The boy laughed, placing his cup down, "Oh, no, I get plenty of action at school, thank you. But you do have to expect that some students without quirks will want to join at some point, regardless of how crazy that would be."

The principal of the school nodded, taking a sip from his tea, "We do have some expectations of that, and we can see how far they can go. However, this is the fear of any hero or teacher, we also must consider at which point they become a liability to their allies. If that time comes, we would have to deal with it like we would any other student." The principle took another drink before returning his attention to the host, "Does that satisfy your answer?"

The boy nodded, folding one hand over the other, "Yes, I believe it does." He leaned forward, smiling, "It seems that even when facing adversity like that, you've managed to maintain a level of respect toward the student by maintaining the same standard for them as the rest."

"We value all of our students the same, after all. Otherwise, the system may become a bit anarchic." The furry guest responded.

"Wait, hold on," Hawks interjected, placing one arm over the back of the couch, "So, why are we here so early anyways? Didn't you invite us here for some reason?"

The boy nodded with a sigh, "Yes, I did. It seems an old friend of mine from the police department wants to meet you guys."

Hawks mused, "It probably has something to do with that vigilante, huh?"

The boy shrugged, taking a drink of tea, "He didn't say too much about it. He just said he wanted to meet you guys here, so he'll be coming by later to discuss things with you."

"Why not meet him on the Police Department building?" The teacher asked, obviously annoyed.

The boy just stared at him before sighing, "You haven't been to Gotham before, have you?"

**Japan**

Smoke filled the air and fires ran rampant as the heroes on the scene attempted to settle down the situation. Backdraft, a hero who was dressed in an outfit which resembled a firefighter and whose quirk was labelled as 'Fire Hose,' was busy trying to take out the fires, blasting the flames with its mortal enemy, water. Kamui Woods donning his blue cloth and tree bark-based costume was helping him with getting people inside the buildings out of harms way and to a safe place using his quirk, 'Arbor.' The rest of the heroes were working crowd control.

In the crowd, a boy with green hair stared at the scene with a stone in his throat could only stare in horror. Usually, he would be staring at the scene, eyes sparkling and in awe as the Pro Heroes showed off their abilities and saved the day.

Except they weren't saving the day. There was one other situation taking place in front of them all, a man with a quirk that turned him into a sludge monster laughed as he held another person in his grasp. A boy with the same middle school outfit that the green-haired boy wore with blonde hair and red eyes. That boy was Katsuki Bakugo, the green-haired boy's childhood friend. Currently, he was being choked by the sludge man and was on the verge of death.

In that moment, it wasn't a conscious decision that was made, there wasn't a plan in place to do anything. But the boy moved forward, even knowing he was severely outmatched. Fully knowing that he may die like he did to this villain earlier that day.

As he sprinted forward, he pulled his backpack off his shoulders, throwing it at the villain with all his strength. In a moment of pure luck, the bag hit the sludge villain in the eye, causing him to cry out in pain and loosen his grip on the blonde. This allowed the other boy to reach the villain, and he began to claw at him, trying to free his old friend as best he could!

"Deku, what the hell are you doing here?!" The blonde screamed.

With an excessive amount of tears rolling down his face, the green-haired boy smiled at the hostage, "You just looked like you were asking for help!"

The boy continued to claw, but was eventually grabbed by the villain once again as he had been caught the day before. The sludge forced its way into his mouth and the criminal finally recovered.

"Ragh, I'm gonna kill you this time kid! All Might ain't here to stop me either!" The villain cackled.

"All Might may not be here," A girl's voice rang out. In a moment, the villain began to cry out in pain again and released the boys completely. Deku turned around, meeting the face of his savior. It was a girl with long, black hair and a beautiful face with a golden tiara atop her forehead. Over her torso was armor which resembled an eagle on the edge of her top made of gold. Below that was red armor, which covered everything from her chest to her hips. Below that was a blue skirt made of metal as well. Her shoes were the same red as the torso and made of a similar kind of metal. Upon her wrists was silver gauntlets which reflected the orange sunset overhead. On her hip was a golden and glowing rope while in her hands was a sword. Said sword was golden and had just cut the villain's left eye in half!

The girl finished her retort, "But I hope you will settle with me."

She pulled back her sword, sheathing it and pulling the rope out. She threw the rope up and into the air, then once the string tensed up, she pulled downwards. Within a few seconds, a water tower came rushing down and smashed into the sludge villain. As it fell, the girl rushed forward and grabbed both Bakugo and Deku, bringing them out of harm's way and incapacitating the sludge villain.

The green-haired boy was in awe as he turned to the girl, who had a smile on her face. She turned to the boy, "That was brave of you, I commend your courage."

"W-who are you?"

"I am Diana Prince of Themyscira!" She let the boys go, standing straight, "What of you?"

"I-I'm Izuku Midoriya! Nice t-to meet you!"


	3. The Hunt

**Kansas**

The idea of learning a new language never occurred to Clark. He had planned on taking a Spanish class in his High School career, but that would have just been for the credits. Still, he had never done it before, so he had no clue what to expect from this obstacle. Luckily, the school had sent him some textbooks to learn and even had some online quizzes he had to take every once in a while, so it shouldn't have been too hard for him.

Plus, the alien had recently learned that he had another, more ambiguous ability.

As Clark opened up the Japanese textbooks, he flipped to a later, more advanced section of the book. Sure enough, the language and the meanings behind everything burst from the page. In the span of three seconds, Clark had been able to read the sentence about as clear as English!

"'Could you lend me some sugar for my cake?'" The boy chuckled to himself, "This is a really convenient ability."

But, this confirmed his suspicion about that. It occurred to Clark over the past few times he watched the projection of his biological father that his father seemed to be speaking English. This obviously didn't make a lot of sense because there would be no way for his father to know the English language, he was countless lightyears away! The idea seemed far fetched at first, when he first thought of the notion that his mind could instantly translate languages for him, but it seems even some far fetched ideas are worth paying attention to.

This only left Clark with one more dilemma, "Does this mean I can write kanji properly in the same way as I read it? Or speak it?"

The Kryptonian picked up his father's projector, placing it in front of him on the desk in his room and took out a sheet of paper with pencil in hand. He poked the projector and it started again. As his father spoke, Clark closed his eyes and heard the words his father spoke and let himself write what it was he was saying. Listening closely so as to get what is being said on paper, rather than what's meant.

Sure enough, when the boy opened his eyes, he saw scribblings of a language that he knew but he knew was foreign to this planet. On the paper were symbols, which all had their own meanings and structure.

Again, he just chuckled to himself before turning to the textbooks and reading them. At the very least, he could still go through everything and apply some of what the education had to offer just in case. After all, he had a few months before he would be headed out for the U.A. Entrance Exams, so he didn't have anything better to do.

So, he began studying, making sure there were no kinks in this newfound ability that, to him, seemed more overpowered than flight and super strength.

**Japan**

Diana groaned as she sat in the police headquarters, arms crossed. After the villain was defeated and the fires were put out, the heroes were ultimately relieved that no one was hurt. Her and the blonde boy began to get some praise, even.

Izuku Midoriya, however, began to be lectured for running into battle without a plan or a 'quirk' as they called it. Although the girl agreed it wasn't the smartest idea to run into a battle without assessing it, she downright detested their hypocrisy in the situation. So, she decided to step in and defend the boy. This eventually led to an altercation between her and the man the crowd called 'Death Arms' where he put his hand on her shoulder to get her to stand down and she flipped him over her shoulder and slammed him put him down.

The other 'heroes' didn't take to kindly to it and a fight broke out which only ended once a larger man with a white t-shirt and long, vibrant yellow hair stepped in with arms raised and a smile on his face. He was nice enough and sympathized with the girl which led to convincing her to come with the other heroes to explain her actions in a more civil environment as he had other business to attend to, as he put it.

That was a few days ago. The only reason she hasn't been released yet was because they couldn't get ahold of her legal guardian. That wasn't going to happen for the simple fact that her guardian was on a magically hidden island where telephones or cellphones were unheard of. So, she'd been stuck in the police department wearing baggy clothes while the department scrambled to find a solution. Luckily, the people at the police department were kind to her for most parts of her stay.

They gave her three meals a day, which mostly was officers buying double orders of what they were eating. She also had plenty of conversations with them, which once they opened up to her they had become friendly, even. One of the officers in particular was the police chief, Kenji Tsuragamae.

He was the one that originally began asking her questions. She was sat down in a cold, white room with just a table, a bowl of ramen and another chair in front of her. She happily ate her dish for some semblance of warmth before he walked in. Every part of him was normal for a man, except for his head which was exactly the shape of a dog's. It wasn't the strangest biproduct of the enhanced abilities man had accrued, but it still was strange.

He was combing over files as he closed the door, "You said your name was Diana Prince, correct?"

The girl nodded, "Of Themyscira."

"Right, 'Themyscira.'" The man sat down in front of her, finally looking up from his files, "I'm Kenji Tsuragamae, the police chief. The report said you kept saying you were from there. What is it?"

The girl sighed, resting her arm on the table as she placed her cheek on her hand, "It is not surprising mankind has no knowledge of it. Themyscira is a paradise only accessible to the Amazonian warriors who reside there and the few of man who stumble across it."

"That story is very hard to believe, Prince-san, you must admit. In fact, I might say you were thinking I was a fool to come up with something so bizarre." He placed the file on the table, "Your accent sounds possibly European, and considering ethnicity I would assume you're from there."

The girl shook her head, "I speak the truth, Tsuragamae-sama, I am from Themysicra."

The man sighed, scratching his forehead, "Let's move from that for now and talk about your gear." He placed his hand down and looked at the files on the table, "It was reported that you had a sword and a rope with you at the time, why?"

"They are my weapons, of course. The Lasso of Truth and the Sword of Athena!"

The man nodded, "I get it, your persona is of Greek gods. And the armor?"

"My armor is the ceremonial garment of battle. This armor specifically was tailored for me by the Amazonian blacksmiths with my title in mind."

"Title?"

"I am the princess of Themyscira."

The officer couldn't help but scrunch his brow, "I'm kind of getting tired of this façade you're putting up, Prince-san." He pointed to the girl, "You need to start telling the truth, before we have to place you in juvenile detention!"

"I have not told one lie in this room!" She pointed her finger at him, "How dare you accuse me of such an act!"

"How do you expect me to believe any of that?"

"My Lasso."

"Huh?"

The girl crossed her arms, "Get the Lasso of Truth and one of your men and I will show you, I speak the truth."

After a sigh and a moment of reluctance, he complied, getting the Lasso of Truth and a random officer from the break room.

"Okay, now what, Prince-san?"

She picked up the thread and it began to glow it's bright yellow. She held it out, "Officer," she turned towards the new officer in the room, "What is something you've done recently you're not proud of?"

The officer took a step back, raising his hands in defense, "Woah, why are we getting into my personal life?" He turned to the police chief and was about to say something, but was interrupted by the girl.

"Now, grab hold of the lasso."

The officer reluctantly complied.

The girl asked again, "What have you done recently that you're not proud of?"

The man didn't even look at her when he answered, "I accidentally dropped a piece of gum I was chewing on a patch of dirt outside but put it back in my mou-." The officer recoiled from the lasso, covering his mouth and jumping back, "What the hell was that just now?!"

The police chief ignored him, "How am I supposed to know that wasn't just a quirk you were using?"

The girl raised an eyebrow, "I've not a clue what these 'quirks' even are that you people speak so fondly of in the first place."

The conversation from the interrogation continued like that for a while, but they couldn't get anywhere with it. The commissioner said there was a man that could discern if it was a 'quirk' or not. However, he was out of town in America in a city known as Gotham, so she would have to remain in custody until they could confirm her story and figure out how to contact her guardians.

Overall, the experience has been much too dull for her likings.

**Gotham City**

The sounds of foghorns shot into the night of the shipping yard. Tensions were high, as the police, Falcone henchmen, and even international affairs were practically breathing down Bruce's neck. Falcone was a priority, however, as some strange phenomena began affecting some of the people connected to Falcone who were being convicted.

All of them were pleading insanity, and winning with it as the judge was undoubtedly being paid off to be convinced of the plea. However, as they were being placed in the Arkham facilities, they suddenly changed their entire behaviors as if they did fall into insanity.

This wasn't what led the vigilante to the docks, however. This was caused by a new drug used by the henchmen, which enhanced their quirks by what Bruce estimated to about five times. He couldn't get ahold of enough of the drug to analyze it properly, but there was a small printing on the capsule which read in Japanese, meaning imports.

Bruce had a feeling that the sudden psychosis of the Falcone connections and the quirk enhancing drug used by henchmen were imported to the same docks, so all he had to do was find the docks and investigate. These docks were easy enough to find with a sniper peering over towards the city waiting for him to come in to stop their businesses. So, in order to get around this, Bruce found a sewer access grate to travel through instead. Luckily, the vigilante didn't have to worry so much about water getting into his boots as he borrowed a design from the Applied Sciences division from his company.

This design applied to his whole suit, trading in the simple cloth and leather for something with a bit more protection and some more tools. It still had the same general look to it, the grey was darker and had some Kevlar padding underneath in the space between ligaments. The belt was less of a leather belt and more of a military one, packed with bat-shaped shuriken and smoke pellets. His cape was made of a memory cloth what was modelled with five points along the bottom of it. This was attached to the cowl, which when over his head more snugly than the previous suit. The gauntlets and boots resembled each other more this time around, too, with the knuckles of the gloves being reinforced with steel and the boots being steel-toed. The bat on his chest was also more prominent, covering much more of his chest and having extra armor on it for safety. The final main tool in his arsenal, the key for this particular endeavor, would be the grapnel gun.

The billionaire consulted his butler over the radio with the schematics about how to reach the end of the tunnel, so it made getting to it easy. The rusted metal bars were easy enough to snap off its hinges, to which he placed inside the tunnel as to not alert the sniper or any other thugs close by. He pulled out the grapnel gun, taking his steps out of the sewers, then fired up towards the crane the sniper was positioned. Once the hook at the end got attached to something, it began to tug and pull on its user, sending Bruce up and just below the gunman.

With one pull, the bat-themed boy was above the target and was able to kick the target right on his chin before he even knew what hit him. He fell to the ground, practically silently. No shot was ever fired.

"Now, I can take the rest of them out." The vigilante stepped onto the railings of the platform, getting a better view of the rest of his targets.

Below, there were two men on top of crates, one carrying an assault rifle that Bruce identified as an M4A1 variant, the other carried no gun but was fiddling with what looked like the head of a shark in the place of his right hand with his other hand being that of a puffer fish while he sat on the edge of the crates. Below them were half a dozen men from his count. One with multiple eyes on his head, four arms and four legs, and an extra appendage on his lower back, spider quirk. Another which was semi morphed into on of the crates, an unidentified quirk with a range of possibilities that Bruce suspected to be an ability to morph into metal. A third a hammer for a head. The third's head was glowing as he carried a gun and patrolled. The other three were standing near a trash can fire, two of them seemed normal, one having red hair cut short and the other being bald. The third on the trash, that being the sixth piece of scum, was about three times the size of Bruce and covered head to toe in a puffy suit.

Either way, a plan was made, now to put it to action. The billionaire leapt off the crane, grabbing his cape and sending a pulse through it so it's remembered shape would form and allow him to fly overhead. None of them noticed him, all except for one, the man with the gun. But by the time he did, it was too late for him. I dropped my cape, which resulted in me tackling him on the top of the crates hard enough to send him off and slam into the concrete edge of the dock. He was out, cold.

The sound of the tackle, however, attracted the animal handed man. Bruce needed to move, so he rushed through the narrow edges of the crates, making sure to just barely be noticed by one of the patrolling men away from the fire. By the time I was in position, I leapt back onto the crates and made a silent sprint towards the man looking to recover his ally. The man began to turn around, but as he did, he was met with the back of one of Bruce's heels, sending him out of consciousness without the chance to even use his quirk.

Next was down below. One of them was already looking for whatever he found in the dark, but Bruce didn't want to focus on him. As he looked over the edge at him, it was clear by his shaking that he was an easy target to scare.

_I'll let him live through the fear a bit more. _The billionaire reasoned, before turning away with just enough sound to spook him again, but without enough visual evidence to be reasonable in alerting others.

He moved on to the hammer-headed man. This one would be trickier, as aiming for the head would only cause more pain on Bruce's end than on his. As he passed a slightly open container and the spider-scum rounded the corner to the same isle, an idea struck in Bruce's head.

He jumped overhead, still unnoticed by the two, then rolled off the container, keeping hold of the edge and flipping into the container, which was full of nails. The hammer man heard, turning around with a jolt and walking over to investigate. He opened the container more, peering inside with a groan. Bruce moved a little, which in the darkness was only barely visible, so the hammer man peered closer.

_Now! _The boy in the costume, within the span of a single second, grabbed the hammer man by the collar and pulled him inside and slammed him into the nails, undoubtedly puncturing the thug in a few places. To take him out, he picked up his leg, taking hold of the palm of his foot, then twisted it until an unnatural pop could be heard, then twisted it more. His body went into shock from all the pain at once and he was out cold before he could make a peep.

Now, however, the spider man was looking in the container, but this time Bruce decided not to be noticed. He ducked into the darkness, becoming one with it. Both him and the criminal were invisible to this man, and without a flashlight, the man turned away to alert a friend or to grab a flashlight.

That would do. The boy burst out of the container once he was in the clear, hopping atop the containers and listening into the conversations.

"Hey, guys, uh…" The hammer thug started.

The bald thug responded, in a deeper and much more tired voice, "Spit it out, man. And if it's one of your complaints then-."

"No, it's not me! Fred is out!"

"Fred?"

The large man grunted, sitting at the fire. The criminal with the glowing head joined in, obviously leaning towards panic, "I-I saw something, too! It was a shadow, moved as fast as lightning!"

The bald man began to laugh, "Alright, you guys are talking like you seen the boogeyman."

The glowing man moved towards the spider man, "You don't think it's _him_, do you?"

The hammer nodded, almost smacking the other in the face with his own, "I think it might be."

"Who are you two talking about?"

"THE BAT!" Both said in unison, turning to him.

"The bat ain't real, kids. That's a myth that's been going around to scare people." The man laughed again, "I mean, a guy that has super strength, speed, can morph into shadows and who can't be shot? That smells like a myth all over. No one has that many quirks."

The two exchanged glances, then turned back, "I don't think that thing's human to begin with." The glowing man interjected.

The hammer man groaned, "Whatever's going on, we gotta help Fred! He got pulled into a container and I can't see."

The glowing man nodded towards him, "If it's me an' you we can do it. I light the way, you have 360° vision. It's perfect!"

They shook hands before turning away, going back to the container. Leaving the big man and the bald man alone at the fire. The bald man turned around before groaning again.

"Great, now where'd Kevin run to?"

'Kevin' was currently having his neck squeezed by Bruce while trying desperately to stab and claw at his gauntlet. However, the metal built into the gloves made it perfect for deflecting such things, so he never made it through as he lost consciousness. Bruce set him down at the edge of the container, then decided to move back to the container to take out the two stooges.

As he ran back, he shot his grapnel gun at the crane again, but only repelled halfway up, getting a good view of down below, where the two stood directly under him. Bruce flipped upside down, the memory shaping of his cape activating and keeping it stiffly pointing towards his feet.

The man with the light peered in, rummaging through the nails to find their friend while the spider man kept watch, looking over the crate containers and in the dark alleys of the containers. Bruce wanted to wait, he wanted the criminal to see him just before he yanked him from the scene. It didn't take long for that to happen, either. When he did notice him, he looked back up, staring with his larger eyes and with a gaping mouth. Bruce let loose.

He fell down, opening his 'wings' and wrapping them around him as he pulled him up, getting in a headbutt as they fled upwards. The headbutt, when combined with the fear, was enough force to knock him out. As Bruce reached the top of the crane, he tied the thug to the railing and pushed him over the side. When he stopped, he was right behind the glowing man.

The force of the man stopping his momentum was enough to have the glowing man turn around, which caused him to practically jump out of his skin. He fell to the ground in a mess, dropping his gun and hitting the back of his head on the container he was searching. He quickly scrambled back on his feet, collecting his gun and running back towards the fire! Bruce couldn't hear them, but the glowing boy and the bald man eventually turned to go back to the thug on the rope.

Bruce dropped onto the crates below, using his cape before the landing so he fell silently, then turned to the two as they approached the rope. From his belt, he pulled out one of his themed shuriken, reeling back so he could throw it.

Something sounded behind him though, causing him to turn to the big man ramming into him like an ox, his mask ripping from the force of his jaw alone, revealing sharp teeth that only barely missed Bruce as he pushed off the large man, landing right in front of the crates he stood on. The three remaining thugs were grouped together now, standing in front of the crate.

The bald man was still very surprised, despite the chuckle he let out, "Holy shit, he is real." He lowered his gaze at the boy, "The boss would really love to see you, bat freak, I'm sure if I brought your head to him he would probably give me enough of a bonus to buy a vacation home."

Bruce growled as he spoke, "You're going to tell me about the imports of drugs coming into the bay."

The bald man snapped his fingers and the bigger thug rushed the vigilante. Now that he got a better look at the thug, he could tell now that he was more reptilian than human, with scales running down his face and teeth where his lips should have been. He couldn't see the rest of his body, but it wouldn't matter. He was still going down!

The reptilian charged like he did before. This time, however, Bruce was ready for it as he vaulted over the man and leapt off his back to reach the other two. His foot landed on the cheek of the bald man, sending him into the crate with the nails where a yelp could be heard as he landed. The glowing boy pointed his gun at the vigilante, but the gun was grabbed, the butt of it shoved into his face, then the barrel. Bruce would have landed the final blow, but the bigger thug rammed into the smaller one, catching him with his mouth and chomping down.

Blood scattered the ground as the criminal's torso was now missing a chunk, the light on the man's head faded as he landed on the ground. There wasn't any coming back from that. The man was dead.

Bruce growled, jumping onto the opponent's face, landing jab after jab on his teeth, "YOU KILLED HIM!"

The beast lashed forward with his mouth, something Bruce read coming and hurled himself off the criminal's body with a flip as he landed in front of him.

The reptilian laughed, lowering into his charging stance, "He was tasty! That's why they call me Killer Croc, 'round these parts. I'm one of Falcone's strongest guys." The reptilian burst forward, mouth wide open, "You'll learn WHY!"

Bruce vaulted over him again, this time throwing a smoke pellet at his face to cover the fact he repeated the same move on the cannibal twice. He landed in a roll, shifting the momentum to turn around and slide toward the beast's legs, kicking both of his hamstrings with enough force to both bring him down and to send the vigilante into a roll to get him back on his feet. He jumped forward once more, climbing on Croc's shoulders and pressing buttons on both his gauntlets. When he went to strike, the steel knuckles sent millions of volts of electricity through the beast's temples, sending him to the ground without another sound other than the thud of the ground.

Killer Croc was still breathing, which was more than he deserved.

The man that was sent into the bed of nails finally got out of the container, looking at the scene around him. The pool of blood was at his feet, and as he followed the blood, he finally met his ally, a boy that was looked like he was in his early twenties, pale and missing his glow. The man just stared, either in shock or wrapping his head around it with trouble.

Most would have sympathy for him. Bruce had none.

He grabbed the man by the throat, raising him over his head with one arm and narrowing his eyes on him. "You're going to tell me what's in these containers. I'm not asking."

**Eraserhead**

The report came in of a noise disturbance at the Gotham Docks. One report claimed that a man was hung by the crane of the dock, which chimed the three foreign heroes in on this being an incident involving the vigilante. Within the time Eraserhead had been here, in this damned city, he started to realize what the Wayne son and the butler was talking about. It had only been half a week in the city, and the officials were very clearly taking care of business in an unorthodox way.

It was during a raid they believed the Batman, as the vigilante was formally named, was going to strike next. Unfortunately, it turned out it was just a group of squatters who had only seen the Batman once. They only gave the same story the criminals ever did, that he was a demon or an army of men seeking to make Gotham their kingdom or, and this was the craziest story in Eraserhead's opinion, a manifestation of quirks seeking to maintain that the quirks were used for good. When the police didn't get the information they wanted, they pulled the squatters out of the house and though the hero couldn't see it, he could hear the men beating the homeless for assurance that they were telling the truth.

Things like this continued for the past few nights, night time being the only time the Bat seemed to work. Not once had they actually seen the Batman, though. Upon a personal conference between Eraserhead and Nezu, they agreed that the vigilante must have heard of their arrival somehow and was playing his cards cautiously.

This time, however, they knew they would not only confirm his existence but also catch him and bring him in!

They arrived on scene in Gordon's police cruiser, his partner bringing in a spare and a swat team on their way. Immediately, he could hear a fight that sounded like a beast was inside the docks. The fighting stopped as Aizawa turned to Hawks, who had just landed next to him in his hero gear. He then turned to Gordon.

The redheaded officer tilted his head, "We don't need a warrant at this point. Head on in when you feel it, but SWAT will be here in three minutes, roughly."

Aizawa considered the options, turning to Nezu who was in the partner's cruiser. The animal principal sipped his cup of tea before adding his two-cents, "If we wait for SWAT, we can secure a perimeter, but considering the elusiveness of our target, that may just mean we lose our chance. I believe you and Hawks should head in anyways."

The teacher nodded, turning to Hawks nodding to him. He nodded back and leapt into the air, flapping his red wings and moving over the docks. Eraserhead jumped up himself, using the cloth around his neck to pull him over the gate of the docks and climbing into the facility. He rushed forward, sure to be as quiet as he could be.

He took the higher ground, leaping onto containers and sprinting forward, looking overhead at Hawks who was standing on the crane at the far end of the docks now. He pointed to his radio, which Aizawa answered using his hands-free phone.

_"Yeah, I don't see him. He may be inside, I did see a boat parked inside the warehouse with containers."_

Aizawa looked at the scene around him, thugs scattered across the ground and one with a hole in his torso, blood staining the wood of the dock. "We have one casualty so far."

_"I saw, but that wasn't him. Look at the big guy, his mouth is bloody."_

The tired hero checked the bigger man's mouth, which still had visible gore in between his teeth. _Disgusting, in all my years working as a hero, this may be the first time I've seen a cannibal._

The hero shook the thoughts out of his head, turning instead to the warehouse. He radioed Hawks as he ran, "Did you see a potential entrance on the roof?"

_"Uh huh, I think that's how our bat guy got in. There was a ventilation pipe that was broken through. When in Rome, right?"_

Aizawa leapt from the container to a truck, then leapt up, using his cloth around his neck to latch onto the gutter of the warehouse and pull himself up. He rushed forward, looking for the broken pipe, then jumped in once he found said pipe.

He slid down, putting a bit off pressure on the pipes so he didn't make so much noise going down. When he reached the bottom, there was already a hole, so he simply let himself fall in, catching himself on the railing of a walkway above the boat. He peered through, finding no sign of anyone on the boat, except for the first three shipping containers on the left side were all open.

Aizawa pressed his earpiece, "He's here. He must have heard me."

_"Think his quirk is enhanced hearing? That would be anticlimactic."_

"No."

The teacher hopped down, landing on the boat with a thud and taking march towards the containers. He peered inside, nothing out of the ordinary in the first one. The second one was a similar story, just imports of fruits. The third was strange, however. The boxes in it were all labelled as imports from Japan and three of the boxes were open.

One box looked like it contained stuffed bears, stuffed with a kind of powder. The one to the right of it was stuffed with the same kind of powder but was stuffed inside of rabbits. The third had two numbers on the side '34/66' and was filled with small grey cylinders cased inside clear containers, the cylinders being slightly longer than ten centimeters.

"What are these?" He mumbled to himself.

"They're why I'm here." A voice reminiscent of a growl sounded behind Eraserhead.

He turned around in an instant, throwing his cloth tendrils forward! The new person rushed forward, running against the wall of the container and throwing a strike at Aizawa. The teacher dodged, however, and tried to counter with a low kick as the vigilante landed but was met with a kick to the back of the head as the opponent vaulted over and around the crates with his built momentum. This sent Aizawa into the wall, which he rolled into as to reduce the damage. The figure was unrelenting, his fist already moving towards the hero's face, which was barely dodged. The strike shifted into an elbow, which did catch his collarbone with enough force that he knew it would bruise.

Aizawa was pinned, scowling at his opponent.

"I'm not your enemy." The Batman growled.

"You've broken the law, like hell you're not."

"In order to maintain the laws, yes."

"You're going to jail."

"Then, I presume you've arrested the crooked cops that beat those homeless men a few days ago?"

The teacher's scowl loosened, "You were there?"

The man nodded. Then he let the hero go. "Do you know why I came to this shipping yard?"

The teacher nodded, pointing to the open crates, "The drugs. What are they?"

The man turned to the crates, which is when Aizawa could get a good look at him, and that he realized that the vigilante was shorter than him. "The powder is an integral ingredient for a drug here in Gotham. The drug, once combined with other ingredients, makes a fear inducing toxin."

"Why two kinds of packages then?"

"They get shipped to two locations. One in the Narrows and another goes to a botany lab upstate." The man continued, "However, the Narrows is where the drug comes from."

"So, what about the laboratory?"

"That's what I intended to find out before you interrupted me." The last part of that sentence was a lot more aggressive than the rest of their conversation.

Aizawa was annoyed but ignored it. "What about the other drug? The capsule."

Batman took a step back, picking up a package and breaking it open for the capsule. He pulled off the cap, revealing a needle inside, "This drug is experimental, it's been used to enhance people's quirks at variable rates." The vigilante recapped the drug before tapping the box at the two numbers, "These identify the amount ingredients used. I have yet to verify what these ingredients are, but I was going to use this shipment as the opportunity to."

The man went to put it in his belt, but Eraserhead stopped him, wrapping his tendril around his arm, "Hold on, you tampered with evidence and I'm willing to let you pass on that. However, I cannot let you take that kind of drug with you!"

The two stared at each other for a minute, saying nothing. Eraser couldn't see the vigilante's face the entire time he'd been talking with him, but he could sense the tension rising in the room. The hero was expecting a fight to break out over this.

"Fine, I suppose I'll let your people handle this drug." The Batman raised his arm, placing the capsule in Aizawa's hand. "I will be handling the other drugs. You won't stop me there." The man turned away from the hero.

Aizawa moved over to the ingredients in the stuffed animals, then sighed, "Fine, I guess that's Gotham's problem anyways." He continued as he turned around, "You still have to-."

He was gone, as if he had never been there to begin with. For some reason this didn't settle well with Aizawa. He opened the capsule the vigilante had given him, he dismantled the syringe. The chemical inside was missing!

He burst out of the container, calling in on Hawks, "The vigilante was here, he ran off with a dangerous drug! Did you ever see him come out, Hawks?"

Aizawa had just busted down the warehouse door as the bird-based hero answered, _"No, no one ever came out! Want me to search overhead?"_

"Just go!"

The other hero was already on the move, bursting up and into the sky circling the shipping yard three times before moving into the city.

Aizawa had only just jumped back over the gate, meeting the police officers and Nezu who were accompanied by SWAT and Mr. Freeze, one of the local heroes.

He turned to the SWAT team, "There's a shipment of drugs in the third shipping container in the warehouse on the boat." Then he turned to Nezu, Gordon and Mr. Freeze, who were standing beside his cruiser, "Batman got away, but Hawks is currently-."

_"Eraser, I found him! He's headed towards Old Gotham, should I get him?"_

"Wait for backup, Hawks." He turned back to the team, "Old Gotham."

Gordon nodded, turning towards Mr. Freeze, "You wanna help us out?"

The man in armor sighed, placing his iconic freeze gun on his shoulder, "Unfortunately, I do not believe I am capable of moving that fast, nor can I fit in conventional vehicles." The man nodded behind the glass helmet separating him from the heat of the outside world, "Sorry."

Gordon shrugged, "That's alright, Freeze, help out the SWAT team any way you can, then."

Another exchange of nods and Gordon was back in the vehicle, sirens and lights on, speeding down the road to try to catch up with the hero and the vigilante.

_**I know these first three chapters have come out back to back, but I wanted to get the chapters up just so people could get a good grasp of what it is I'm doing with this series and decide if they like it or not. Plus, I feel like with more words and/or chapters people will gravitate towards this story more. Also, I realize that these first few chapters will focus on Bruce a lot more than the others, but I do promise to give the other characters their due time later. It just so happens that more is going on in Gotham than in Kansas or Japan at the moment. I just want to make sure that the characters, motivations and plots line up well.**_

_**Mindbreaker101: I may have some other DC heroes show up in the future, but the DC's Trinity will be the focus of this story.**_


	4. The Fight No One Would Believe

**Gotham City**

**Batman**

The hero, Hawks, was trailing Batman overhead. He overheard him yelling over his earpiece, signaling to Aizawa about his position and where he was headed. That was a mistake on Bruce's part, one he planned on resolving for any future instances that could occur.

He slammed his heels on the ground, skidding to a halt and facing the winged hero. The hero smiled, lowering himself slowly.

"Did you realize just how impossible it is to lose me?"

Bruce narrowed his gaze, letting his cape fall around him. He didn't speak.

"Listen, I don't think either of us want this to end up ugly. Just return what you took, and we can still talk about this." The foreign hero lowered even further, eventually landing on the rooftop around three meters away from him.

_He fell for it. _The vigilante looked up, only one eye visible from the little bit of light that made it on the rooftop, revealing his eye had no pupil. This apparently made him nervous, which created a small window of vulnerability.

"No, we can't." Hands emerged from the cape, small balls accelerating at Hawks feet.

They struck, and before Hawks had time to react, smoke dispersed around him. The formula wasn't simply a smoke screen, he knew that would only end poorly, so he replaced it with a tear gas-like formula to daze his enemies further. This instance was where this change of formula came in handy most. Hawks couldn't breath enough to move his body in a way that used his full strength, so he couldn't fly, leaving him on the ground. This opened the small window he once had as wide as a garage door.

Bruce rushed in, striking the hero's right shoulder, releasing his arm that reflexively held his diaphragm and allowing Bruce to jab it three times. Any wind he had in him was now fully gone, so the vigilante swiped his leg under the man then grabbed his head. He followed through, sending Hawks to the ground, unconscious and with the ground below him slightly cratered.

Hawks was down.

Bruce knelt down, picking up the earpiece and listening in.

Eraserhead broke through the other side, speaking in Japanese, _"Hawks, where are you now?"_

Batman responded in the same language with the same fluency, the growl still present, "He's on Dini Tower. Don't follow."

He threw the earpiece on the downed hero's chest, then ran to the rooftop edge overlooking the street, in a different direction than he was moving in. He stepped forward, opening his cape and gliding over the cars below.

Halfway to the other side of the street, the police cars came speeding through. They definitely saw him, as they turned on the street parallel to the direction he was headed. Batman landed on the rooftop, sliding forward before diving into a roll and burst forward to keep his momentum. He was about halfway past the rooftop before he heard a familiar voice yell at him to stop. He didn't.

He pulled his grapnel gun out, shooting upwards at a rooftop that was four stories higher and a little off to the left of him. He jumped off the roof once he reached the edge, but rather than repelling up to the top, he let himself swing towards the building. He landed on the side, running forward and pressing a button on the gun to cut off the line once he was at the apex of the run. He jumped off the side, placing the gun at his belt and grabbed his cape so he could reach the rooftop across from the parking lot below. He didn't stop once he landed, going with the assumption that he was following behind somehow.

Bruce kept on his way, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. He turned around, finding that Aizawa was nowhere behind him. That wasn't right!

Bruce sidestepped, rolling across the ground, dodging the kick that came from the teacher from above. He threw two shuriken, which the dark hero attempted to dodge. The first flew past easily enough, but the second managed to hit him in the left shoulder. It only slightly deterred his balance, but he recovered by leaning into the direction he stumbled in and running towards the vigilante.

Aizawa threw a right jab forward, which was avoided by the opponent leaning back. The opponent grabbed the teacher's arm with his left hand, spinning the right side forward and reaching for a kick to his left knee. It landed but he recovered before a cloth tendril launched forward, attempting to catch the vigilante but his sidestep landed them nothing but air. Bruce was now behind Eraserhead, which he grabbed around the waist and pulled back, attempting to land the teacher on his head. Said teacher elbowed the man in the head, but it resulted in no change, so he struck again on the other side, this time landing a blow between his neck and shoulder.

Bruce let go halfway through, throwing the man instead and sending him inside an old office building. The vigilante knew he had to incapacitate the foreigner before getting away, so he jumped after him.

The teacher was just getting on his feet as Batman moved through the cubicle isles. Aizawa lost sight of him, even as he rounded the same corner he seemed to have vanished. Little did he know that the boy had found a ventilation grate to duck into. He began to walk forward, looking for any sign of him. Step by step, as the glass beneath his boots crunched. This was how Batman kept track of him, those sounds would be his end.

As the tired hero walked over him, Bruce took a deep, silent breath. One step away. Two steps. Three!

He jumped up, emerging from the grate and meeting the hero who was just turning around. He slammed into the teacher's back with a booted heel, sending him through two cubicles and destroying the desks! The vigilante jumped again, letting his cape expand as he fell and raised his right fist. As he landed over the hero, his fist slammed down, but met a keyboard which was broken in half into the desk below it as the teacher slid down and behind Batman. The Bat was kicked in the lower back as a result.

He rolled over the next cubicle, regaining his footing before redirecting a punch from the teacher, then blocked an elbow, then another full punch, then a knee. Bruce kept hold of the knee, pulling it upwards and sending his own knee towards the man's crotch! The teacher jumped, catching the knee with his foot then used the knee to jump and twist and just barely was able to reach the head of his adversary. This, too, was caught and the vigilante pushed forward, slamming the man into the ground and winding him. It wasn't enough, Bruce threw another punch at Aizawa's face, but he rolled away from the strike and the cloth tendrils wrapped around the Batman's head.

He stepped back, taking hold of the cloth and tried to rip it off but was thrown across the room before he got the chance. This released the tendrils and freed him, but he slammed against the wall behind him. Aizawa went on the offense again, lunging forward and jabbed at the head of the Bat. The defender dodged, knocking the hand away. The other hand went up for an attempt to uppercut, but that was blocked and one of Batman's hands went up and landed square on the offender's chin. He was sent back, which gave Bruce enough room for a full kick directly to his gut.

Surprisingly, Aizawa grabbed the foot as he was hit tightly. In response, Bruce turned and pushed the teacher to the left. The leg hit the wall, but the person went through the door to the office room, breaking it down. The Bat pushed through, spun around the frame and sent a knee towards the man.

Peculiarly, he lifted his head and just stared at the vigilante at first, his hair beginning to flare up and his eyes glowing red. Bruce followed through, landing his strike and sending the man at least twenty meters down the hall through the force of the knee alone! The teacher picked his head back up, blood rushing down his nose now and a look of surprise on his face. He stumbled up, gritting his teeth.

Batman was the first to speak, lowering his head, "You tried disabling my quirk."

"Yeah, and it looks like it wasn't super strength."

"You read the paper?"

"Once. You?"

"No."

Batman swung both hands forward, shuriken being thrown forward. This time, Aizawa easily dodged both, ducking under both projectiles and smirking at the vigilante.

"You missed."

The vents above him snapped from two unnoticed shuriken and fell down, smacking Aizawa in the face and were suddenly pushed against him as Bruce drop kicked them into the teacher's face. Both the vents and the teacher were sent back even further down the hall and landed him on his back. Aizawa was really getting annoyed at this point. He pushed himself up and peered over the now-fallen vents to find the Bat standing over him.

"Shit." The teacher quickly remarked.

An uppercut landed on Aizawa again, sending him to his feet when he rolled over his back and landed. Bruce jumped over the ventilation, sending a kick downwards, and just barely missing the tired man. The teacher sent a strike, which was redirected and was returned with a strike to the gut. That return was also dodged by the teacher and two tendrils were sent towards the vigilante. One was grabbed and the other was cut midway through using the blades on the underside of Bruce's gauntlet.

The Bat charged forward, headbutting the teacher and picking him up by the back of the belt. He kept charging until he hit the elevator door, punching him in the gut as they hit the door. Another strike was pushed towards the man's face, but it was evaded and the strike instead hit the door and knocked it out of place! Eraserhead pushed forward with both hands against Batman's core, pushing him back. This strike, however, also knocked the hero into the door which gave in to the force. The hero fell backwards with the door, gravity taking it's course.

_Dammit!_ The boy cursed himself, _I should have been ready for that strike. At the very least, I should have been ready to catch him before he fell!_

"Aizawa!" The door he fell through was shoved to the side as Batman jumped through, diving downwards with one hand outstretched towards the hero and another hand at his side. Bruce grabbed the hero, pulling out his grapnel gun which hadn't had the spare hook placed yet. He let the gun go, grabbing his cape with that hand, forcing it to take shape and stiffen. Their descent slowed, and though by his calculations they would survive, it was still going to hurt. As they reached the bottom, Bruce tucked himself under Aizawa, the cape still maintaining it's shape so as to continue to slow their descent.

They struck the ground, both panting and Bruce's back aching. He pushed the hero off him, attempting to stand and regain composure. A second later, the gun he had let go landed next to his feet, relatively unscathed. He crouched down, picking up the gun. As Bruce tried to pull his back up, he heard a small pop which made him wince. But he powered through, not letting the teacher notice any amount of pain or weakness from him. The billionaire looked down to the gun, pulling out the spare hook and replacing it on the end for use.

The hero, who was still on the ground, looked up at the man in the cape and cowl, the frown gone from his face, "You saved me. Why?"

"I don't kill. Besides," Batman twisted the hook on the end of the gun, finally looking down at Aizawa, "You're just trying to do the right thing. So am I."

The teacher finally got a good look at his face through the red emergency lights of the elevator shaft. He was young, and by the man's experience he would guess he was still in school. This made him chuckle before letting his head hit the metal floor.

"What's so funny?"

The teacher looked up, "Why don't you join a hero academy?"

The boy looked down, caught off guard by the comment. "I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"I'm no hero."

"Not yet, but if you go to U.A. you could."

"What are you saying?"

The hero stood up, holding out a hand and returning to his bored expression, "You beat me in a fight and saved me at the same time. Not many could say they could do the first part, especially not one-on-one. You have great potential." The boy remained unfazed by the compliment, "I want to invite you to U.A. Academy as my recommendation, Batman. Then, you could return to Gotham City a full-fledged hero and with how lax America's laws are with crime fighting, you'd be able to do everything you're doing without the police interference."

The boy lowered his head, "Do you know who was importing those drugs?"

The hero's hand went down, confusion making its way to his face, "No, I don't."

"Carmine Falcone, he's the crime boss that runs this city, including people in government. I've been following his case for about three weeks now, and I'm close to ending it." Batman turned away from Eraserhead before looking over his shoulder to him again, "I can't leave until I at least take him out in a way that keeps him behind bars."

Eraserhead placed a hand on Bruce's shoulder, "Then let me help you."

He turned around, "How?"

"Those imports are from Japan, and are just as illegal over there as they are here. However, this means he's dealing with crimes across waters. He's liable for international crimes now. If we can find a direct correlation with these dealings you can get that sentence." Eraserhead nodded, "That's something only I can do, having temporary Japan Representation of our laws. It will make this a lot easier on you, and I'll keep tabs with you on everything I find."

The boy turned away, then looked up, aiming the gun at the elevator above. He turned his head over his shoulder, "You investigate the botany lab upstate, it's run by a Doctor Pamela Ivy. I'll hit the Narrows." He looked back up, shooting the gun and latching onto something solid, "If we can convict Falcone and the corrupt officials, I'll join your academy."

The boy was suddenly sent upwards, being pulled by the hook reel until even to Aizawa's trained eye, he seemingly vanished into the darkness.

**Japan**

**Diana Prince**

Diana eventually got fed up with waiting for the inevitable nothing to happen and decided to sneak out of the police station. First, however, she needed her things.

It was the middle of the day when she decided to go, but it was a hot day and she wanted some fresh air that wasn't at the rooftop of the Musutafu Police Department. So, she got up from the bench and began her way down the hall.

"Um, Prince-san?" the clerk made his presence known. She turned to him, "Where are you going?"

"I just want to refresh myself."

The clerk shrugged, turning back to his computer screen, "Alright, take your time."

She frowned, beginning her way down the hall.

_I could have just asked to get my things and leave? Why had they not told me so? _She pondered as she got a drink at the drinking fountain before walking past the bathrooms.

She marched past the interrogation rooms, towards the place her sword and lasso were being kept. The worst part about the police station, in her mind was the smell. It always smelled like those cigarettes the adults always put to their mouths, and the further in you got the stronger the stench got.

The walls past the lobby turned to a white color rather than the browns and oranges that made up said lobby. Though it was white, it only made all the little pieces of litter seem that much more prominent. It was as she was passing the vending machines that a pink and fluffy woman in her police uniform stopped her.

The woman leaned over, "Prince-san, what are you doing heading that way?"

"Don't worry, I got permission from Hayashi-sama." She pointed to the vending machine, "Getting a water?"

The woman looked to her left, then to her right, the leaned in close to the girl, "I'm using today as my cheat day. Don't let any of the other girls know I drank a soda, they would be furious!"

Diana gave a piece sign with her fingers and a wink, "Don't worry, my lips are sealed."

The woman giggled to herself and the princess carried along her merry way. She eventually got to the storage room where a person would usually be stationed to deal with everything. This time however, no one was there. She put her hands on her hips and puffed one of her cheeks, looking around and thinking about what she should do. There was one idea that came to mind, but there was no way it would work.

Despite her assumptions that the door wouldn't just be open, she still tried anyways. But the police officers wouldn't leave such an important room like this unlocked, that would be a dangerous oversight that in some cases could lead to-.

The door opened.

She put her hand on her face, rubbing her temples, "I can't believe these are the people protecting the citizens."

That wasn't exactly true, the Pro Heroes were also protecting people in their own ways. She shook those thoughts out of her head

Either way, she walked inside and began looking around for her things. It didn't take long, as everything was in alphabetical order. Once she had her things, she slid the tub back in place and began marching in the opposite direction of the lobby towards the nearest exit. No one was there to stop her as she opened the doors leading out towards the parking lot, taking a breath of fresh air before taking off in a full sprint, heart full of joy as she took in the Summer heat!

As she ran, she kept asking herself what she wanted to do. She came up on a buss stop, looking at the ad that was plastered on it. It was an ad for sunscreen with a picture of a family playing at a pool.

"They look like they're having fun!" Diana decided to go to the beach.

**Kansas**

**Clark Kent**

The sound of a loud crash woke up the son of Krypton in a start. He shot out of bed, looking around the house with his x-ray vision for any sign of trouble, then towards the barn. Nothing.

"Okay, Clark. Calm down, it's nothing immediate." He took a deep breath and peeked outside, peering over the horizons visible to him. Still, nothing. He closed his eyes, listening closer at the sounds.

It was almost like a wind now, but more aggressive. "A fire?" Then he siphoned for whatever was close to that, anything he could identify. Then he heard it, like a robotic scream over and over the alarm sounded! "The school!"

He jumped out of his window, pushing himself up and into the air before turning around and looking towards the direction of the school. It didn't look like it was on fire, but he heard what he heard. He pushed his hands forward, bursting him through the air! As he approached, his ETA seemed to be roughly fifteen seconds. The closer he got, the more apparent the fire seemed to get.

He stopped right above the school before circling it, searching for people inside the with his x-ray vision. He counted four people, two boys in the gym, one girl in the cafeteria and the principal in his office. The staff was unconscious, but the others were awake for the moment.

Clark lowered himself to the ground so fast his bare feet cratered the pavement. He felt nothing as he walked towards the debris and began climbing in. He pushed through the debris effortlessly, breaking it down like it were cardboard as he made his way through the flames. Once on the other side, he picked himself off the ground and flew forward towards the principal's office! When he got to the door, he rammed through, finding the man still out cold.

Clark rushed forward and behind his desk, seeing no debris around him. With a sigh, the alien picked up the man and went back the same way he came in, making sure to act as a shield as he burst through the main entrance.

The principal was slipping in and out of sleep, but was coherent enough to make a sentence. "M-my daughter… Save my… girl…"

With a nod, he flew through the new hole he made, heading towards the cafeteria where the girl was. The doorway he first met was open, but there was a barrier of fire between him and the girl! Clark cupped his hands over his mouth.

"Hey! Principle's daughter! You okay?"

The girl was sobbing, but she managed to shout, "My-my leg! I'm… I'm stuck and it hurts!"

"Don't worry, I'll get you out!" He rose above the flames before yelling again, "It's about to get really chilly here in a second, bear with me!"

Clark took a deep breath, then released his lungs with his mouth constricting the air flow. The amount being released and the volume it was being released in turned the air that once was reaching unbearable heats was now a freezing cold, striking down on the source of the flames and putting it out. Once the line of flames was out, he rushed forward, finding the girl who looked to be in the second grade he had to guess on the ground with a small vent on her leg.

He moved down, tossing the vent aside with easy and picking her up bridal style. "Is this comfortable for you?"

The girl nodded as she held onto him. He rushed out of the school again, this time a bit slower than he moved with the principal, but he was out of the school in no time. He placed her on the ground with the now conscious principal, who once the girl was on the ground hugged her tightly.

Kal-El rose, "Be careful with her leg," He used his x-ray vision on her leg, "Keep it straight, she sprained her knee but otherwise is okay."

He turned back to the school, bursting back inside and making his way to the gym swiftly! He didn't bother with the doors, bursting through and catching the boys standing in the center of the room with fire all around them. One of the boys saw Clark and began to wave at him.

"Hey, what's your quirk? Can you help us?"

They were both wearing dark clothes, the jeans being ripped and one of them even sporting a leather jacket.

The Kryptonian sighed, "Definitely the culprits." He opened his mouth to answer them, but he was interrupted by a loud crash above. The roof of the gym collapsed, the debris heading right toward the boys! He rushed forward, ignoring the flames around him as they licked and scorched his t-shirt and sweatpants. He began to angle himself upwards slightly, so by the time he reached the debris, his was still a whole person above the boys. This debris was heavier than what he lifted before, as this was both the metal beams of the gym and practically the whole roof!

He managed to keep it up, however, and took a deep breath like he had done before. When he released, he spun around, being sure the get as much of the flames as he could. This wasn't helping him, however, as his work was almost immediately being undone as flames crept right back after he took them out. He let out a groan, thinking about another way out. He looked up, trying his best to think and to keep the ceiling from crashing. Then he noticed the rope climb as it burned all the way up and turned to ash.

"That's it!" He turned to the boys with a smile, who were staring at him in awe, "You two, grab onto my legs! Like the rope climb!"

They didn't waste any time, latching onto Clark because their lives depended on it. He began to rise again, taking the ceiling with him as he continued to rise. His altitude rose until he was well above the rest of the school. Then, he tossed the ceiling into the air so that it was as high above him as it would be if he was standing in the room it was made for. He then grabbed the two arsonists with his hands before rushing down and past where the ceiling would land as it came crashing down!

When he landed by the other two survivors, the fire fighters had arrived as well as police officers and a local hero who had major bedhead. Her outfit was what you'd expect from a farm girl, except her flannel shirt was tied up so her belly and chest were more visible. All of them stared at Clark in awe as he let go of the two boys, nodding towards them.

"These two are the ones that started the fire, I believe." Nodding to the police officers.

They looked at the boys, who were crying on their knees, "We didn't think anyone was here, we never wanted to hurt anyone." One of the boys announced.

The other boy nodded but he didn't say anything.

The hero placed her hands on her hips, which had a single boxing glove tied at either side of her. "Say, what's your name, kid."

"Oh, I'm Clark Kent, ma'am."

"Well, Clark, that was an amazin' stunt you just pulled, savin' four people from a fire! But don'tcha reckon' yer a bit on the snifflin' side ride about now?"

_Sniffling? _He looked down, and immediately he sped off behind the cover of the police cruiser. His clothes had almost burned off completely! His underwear was the only thing that wasn't burnt to a crisp. He was just happy it wasn't any embarrassing underwear. His face was red as he peered up, "U-um, is it okay if I headed home?"

The officers nodded and the alien gave a thumbs up before bursting into the air and speeding home fast enough that no one could catch another glimpse of his boxers.

"Great job, Clark. Your first rescue and you go an embarrass yourself like that." The boy cursed at himself as he climbed through his window and searched for some new clothes.

**Japan**

**Diana Prince**

She wasn't even to the beach when the smell of sea salt filled the air. She was literally floating on her way to it when she saw the watery horizon! As she approached, she only imagined what kinds of fun would be had! Then she saw the shoreline. Then the sand. Then disappointment.

Not only was there no one on the beach, but there was heaps of junk scattered across it as if it were a junk yard!

When she finally reached the railing separating her from the beach, she slammed her foot on the ground with a thud, "This is a blight on this beautiful view! How could anyone let this happen?"

She realized that there was no one to answer her questions, as instead she began tracing the railing, simply watching the junk as it sat and sizzled in the sun. A sigh quickly rolled out of her mouth as she sat on the railing, looking off into the direction of the sea.

"There goes the refreshing air I so wanted." She looked up at the sky, placing a hand in front of her eyes to block out the sun which was now headed towards the sea's end. "Perhaps there's a garden somewhere with bottles planted in the pots, too."

Her moping was interrupted by the sound of someone tumbling on the ground to her right. She quickly jumped up, floating towards the thud where a familiar head of green, curly hair was picking himself up along with a rope connected to a refrigerator. As he got up, he began to pull the rope and the appliance with him in the direction of a truck with much more junk in the back of it.

Diana couldn't help but feel a giddy in her step as she rushed down! She landed behind the appliance, grabbing it and lifting it above her head, a smile on her face. The boy turned around quickly, his face filled with shock.

"Midoriya-kun! I knew your heart was strong!" She began to walk forward, letting go of the fridge with one hand and wrapping it around the green head of hair for a hug, "Don't worry, friend, I'll help you preserve the beauty of the ocean view!"

"P-P-Prince-san!? W-what are y-you doing here?!" The boy recoiled, waving his hands around trying to figure out what exactly was happening.

"I wanted some fresh air, but when I got outside I felt so free and alive that I wanted to go to the beach! However, I had not realized it was such a mess." She grinned widely again, slamming her hand above her chest over her heart, "But fear not, we will conquer this landfill and have our seaside fun yet!"

She began to run forward, but Midoriya shouted out, "W-wait, don't do that!"

She turned around, one eyebrow cocked, "What is wrong, friend?"

He walked forward, fiddling with his fingers, "W-well, it's j-just that I, uh, need that because I'm d-doing something very important with t-that, you know? And I have to pull it from the landfill t-to the truck. It's not that I don't appreciate the help, I-I'm really – uh – really touched that you want to help, b-believe me…" The stammering took a few more seconds before another voice intervened.

"What the young lad means," Diana turned around, coming face to face with a deathly skinny man with long, yellow hair that was somewhat familiar as well, though she couldn't put her finger on it. He had a white t-shirt and green cargo pants on over a pair of sneakers. "Is that he's trying to train with the appliances as clean the beach." The man began to chuckle, "Though, I have to admit, your eagerness to restore this beach is quite refreshing."

"Oh, is that so?" She turned to her green-haired friend, walking down and placing the fridge where she left it and even retied the rope around the fridge. She turned back to Midoriya, lifting her arm and flexing it with a grin, "I believe in your efforts, Midoriya-kun! You have a warrior's heart, and with that anything can be accomplished."

The man nodded, crossing his arms with a smile, "That is one sentiment I can agree with." He turned to her, "I never introduced myself, I'm Toshinori Yagi, I'm training Midoriya-kun." The man held out a hand.

The girl took his hand and gave it a shake with a friendly smile on her face, "My name is Diana Prince of Themyscira, a pleasure to meet you Yagi-sensei."

She turned back to the green-haired boy, who was struggling to pull the fridge, but was still making progress little by little. For that, she could only sit back and feel sympathy for his efforts. The girl sat on the sand where it was clean of debris, watching as he put his everything into his training of pushing garbage. The man training him sat next to the princess, joining her in overseeing him work.

The man eventually joined the silence between the two, "You're pretty strong, young lady. That combined with your flying you seem to do your future seems very bright."

The girl nodded, turning to him, "I would hope so, I am planning on becoming a hero, after all."

"Oh? You mean U.A.?"

She nodded, staring at the blue sky, "That is where you go so you can help others freely, right? Then that's what I need to do in order to help mankind!"

The man smiled, nodding to her, "That is true. There, every future hero has the chance to get proper training and opportunities to become the best them they can be."

The girl looked down at Midoriya, "Are you going to attend U.A. too, friend?"

The boy almost fell on his face, just barely catching himself on the step in front of him before rising to his feet again and turning to her, "U-um, yeah, I w-was planning on it."

She held a thumb up with a smile on her face, "I believe you can do it, even without a quirk to speak of!"

The boy stood there, staring at her blankly before snapping back to reality, "U-u-um, right! Yeah! T-t-thank you, that, uh, means a lot!"

Izuku got back to pulling, sweat rolling down the side of his face. She looked to the man, who was already reeled back. She cocked her head to the side, confused as to why both of them had such a reaction. Especially Izuku, considering she defended him when the other heroes were lecturing him about running into a fight with a villain. Even still, she's said it before and she believed what she said to her core, that boy had the right spirit to do what it takes to become a hero, no matter what.

All he had to do was believe in himself as much as she believed in him.


	5. One Case Closed, Another Opened

_**TheOkWriter: I understand your concerns but this is ultimately my crossover. Thank you for your concerns, though, I try to pay close attention to details like that when making stories like this.**_

_**That was the only comment that required a reply. I don't like keeping you guys from the stories so I'll keep it brief. I'm sorry for not getting to all of my stories more efficiently but life happens and college is my top priority. I do have plans for all of these stories and I plan on continuing them.**_

_**Thank you for your patience and I won't keep you from this chapter anymore!**_

* * *

**_Gotham City_**

Batman watched Eraserhead as he climbed into the police car after walking out of the office building before heading towards the Narrows. Getting there didn't take much time at all, so while he waited for his temporary partner to find the botany lab, he began searching for their frequency. Once he got it, he called one of the channels hoping it was the tired hero as there wasn't a clear way of choosing one without being at his computer.

_Perhaps Applied Sciences has something like that. _He made a mental note to check on it before returning to his work.

It didn't take long to find a connection, them being on a normal line rather than a police line. He tapped his ear, activating the earpiece as he watched building he was about to investigate. "Eraserhead." He said in Japanese.

_"How did you get this number?" _The tired teacher answered.

The vigilante ignored the question, "Tell me when your squad get to the lab. I'm starting my investigation of the Narrows now."

_"How will you find the building?" _

Bruce looked down from the rooftop he was on, catching the eye of a man with blades for hands kicking a hot dog stand. The man began screaming at the man, "Hey, the big man told ya before that ya ain't allowed in this part o' town! What are ya, retarded?"

"I'm going to ask the locals." Batman replied before leaping from the rooftop and opening his cape se he could tail the bully until he was secluded.

Meanwhile, Gordon had just begun pulling into the botany lab with Aizawa in the cruiser as well as Hawks overhead. Bullock was driving the cruiser behind them with Nezu in the passenger seat. The garden didn't look like anything special, as the Gotham Botanical Gardens was much more extravagant. It was strange seeing this place so far into the woods, however. When they parked, Harvey began rolling down the window, so Eraserhead did the same.

The large man let he arm hand from the window, "We got a reasonable suspicion or something to raid this place? We can't exactly just show up and expect the doctor will be fond of us rummaging through her things based off of what some nutcase dressed like a bat said."

Gordon's phone rang, prompting him to open the message he was sent. He smiled, looking back to the others, "Looks like our dear Mr. Freeze found our suspicion!" He pulled the phone up to a picture of one of the open crates, which had a stamp which read, 'Pamela Ivy's Garden.'

Harvey just stared at the photo, then chuckled to himself as he put out his cigarette, "Shit, that's convenient as hell."

The four men got out of their cruisers and Hawks landed behind them. They began to walk up the path leading to the building. It looked almost like a normal home, albeit with many more plants than what would be considered normal, and no flower was the same as the next. The building itself was a light green with the roof, the frames of the doors and the windows, and the wooden steps leading up to the building, which were less of manufactured steps and more trees bent in an unnatural shape to make steps.

This gave Aizawa a bad feeling. He turned to Hawks, "Perhaps you should stay out here. Your wings won't be too useful inside."

The man nodded, "I was about to say something. I'll circle around, make sure no one's waiting to ambush us or trying to leave."

"This time," Aizawa turned back to the door, "Don't let our target escape."

Hawks was about to retaliate before the native officers knocked on the door to the building. As the bird-hero burst upwards, Aizawa turned away from the team, pressing on his earpiece to call the vigilante.

"We're about to enter the building, how are things on your end?"

Bruce got the question just as he rose from the fire escape, the man from before dangling from his foot as the bat held it. Both of the man's arms were broken, the result of said criminal trying to lash out at his assailant. Twice. He pressed against his own earpiece, "I just got the location of the drugs lab on my end."

"Please, just let me go!" The sobbing thug screamed.

Bruce obliged, letting him fall all the way down in the alley. The man screamed along the way, shutting up only when he landed in a dumpster with a loud thud, undoubtedly incapacitated now. His earpiece still held, he turned away from the alley.

"Falcone wouldn't entrust someone weak with manufacturing this late in the game." He began his march towards the spot, "Don't screw this up."

He hung up, taking hold of his grapnel gun and shooting it towards a slightly higher building and letting him be repelled to the top. The criminal said that the building was near a shantytown, so that was where Batman was headed. He knew of two within the Narrows, but a hunch of his led him to the one bordering Gotham Heights. Considering Falcone has been trying to keep his operations close to his chest, and one of his penthouses is in Gotham Heights, it seemed like the best one to start at.

Batman turned to his right, running towards the West and beginning his hunt for the lab.

This, while doctor herself, Pamela Ivy, finally opened her door. She had red hair and skin that looked like it was replaced with chlorophyll. There were even leaves covering her body, including some specific areas that otherwise should have been covered by pants of some kind. She was wearing a shirt, however, so there was some decency left with her. "Do you boys know what time it is? A girl needs her beauty sleep."

Harvey tried to answer but began stumbling over his words with his mouth glued open. So, Gordon stepped in front of him, scratching the back of his neck, "Sorry about him ma'am." He returned his scratching hand to his pocket, searching for his cell phone and pulling up the picture the hero sent, "We have reasonable suspicion that your botany lab is being used as a front for storing these ingredients used in the creation of dangerous drugs." The woman took the phone, looking bored at the picture as she examined it. "As such, we want to search your household."

"This is the first I've heard of it." The woman gave the phone back to the man, crossing her arms under her chest. Aizawa could have sworn she was pushing up her chest as she let out a yawn. "Sorry, but you boys are going to have to have a warrant to come in here."

Nezu stepped forward, hands folded over one another, "If I may, Dr. Ivy, there has already been people killed tonight and those killed were, as gruesome as it is, eaten alive. If the person that wants these ingredients shipped to your lab is willing to go that far for the imports, I see two scenarios in the near future." He held up his hand with one paw-like finger in the air, "Either you let us search your house, and if we find nothing you go free and the police offer protection, or we find something and we take you into police headquarters where, again, protection is guaranteed." He pulled up a second finger, "Scenario two involves us going to get a warrant, and it what you're saying is true then the people involved in the crime may just kill you to use your base later on. Or, you lied to us and by the time we get back to you with a warrant, your drugs would have been delivered and the Batman would have arrived to-."

"Hold on, you believe in the Batman, little mouse?" She chuckled.

The principal nodded, "In fact, if you haven't seen him then you should be more concerned than you're letting on."

"Why's that?"

"Most people think that the newspaper is dramatizing him, but in fact he is much more dangerous than they ever imagined." Nezu still had his smile on his face, which in a way creeped out Eraserhead more than if he had been talking solemnly, "The fact that such a thing was capable of taking down a member of the Top Ten Pro Heroes of Japan within seconds and laid quite the beating on my best teacher at the best hero academy in the world, U.A. Hero Academy, is quite the testament to how concerned you should be if we don't search immediately and let future events take its course."

The woman was obviously getting nervous as the animal-man spoke, as while Nezu was explaining her dilemma, she swallowed hard at the mention of Japan's heroes. The tired hero knew that Japan's heroes were known for being the best of the best, becoming the top ten of Japan was nothing to scoff at. Especially when half of the world's rankings of Pro Heroes were from Japan, including All Might being first and Hawks making it to fifth. Although, when Hawks was beaten, it was mainly because he let his guard down. If the Pro Hero had been ready for a fight, it might have been a different story.

The woman reluctantly agreed to allow us to search, arms still crossed. As we walked inside, it was basically what one would expect from a botany lab, plants were in rows all across the main room. The plants were exotic, but after that nothing out of the ordinary. Then again, they hadn't really searched the room too closely yet. So, the team broke up into two's, Aizawa with Nezu and Gordon with Bullock. The officers took off, further into the house to look for anything more obvious, while the two foreign heroes took closer looks at the flowers and plants.

The woman stood in the same room as the heroes, arms still crossed and a frown set on her face as the two inspected each pot. "You two better not hurt any of my babies."

Aizawa raised an eyebrow, "Your 'babies?'"

The woman nodded, "My plants, they all speak to me." She walked forward, moving her hand towards a Venus fly trap, petting the top of its head. "When they are in pain, or are in the wrong conditions, they speak to me. When I ask something of them, they answer. In a way, I'm connected to my babies, as they are connected to me." She began rubbing the bottom of the fly trap, it responding as if a cat would, "We share each other's pain."

The tired hero nodded, turning back to the plants, "You must know them better than anyone, then."

"Naturally." She moved from that plant and towards the others. As she passed them, they almost reached out to her, leaves growing and twisting to meet her hand, "What better way to learn about something than asking directly?"

"If that's how you feel," Nezu began, gesturing towards a purple flower at the end of the fifth row, "Then you must know about this plant, correct? It comes from Japan, if I'm not mistaken."

The woman nodded, "Yes, that baby is a beauty, isn't she?"

The principal nodded, "Indeed, she is. However, while around all of these other exotic plants, this one seems out of place." He turned to her, his smile ever-present, "What's so special about it?"

She stepped forward, taking a look at the plant with a smile, "It may not seem like much, but this little guy has one of the best defenses against anything that comes it's way. It has a toxin within it that, once touched by someone that isn't immune to the effects such as myself, go into a state of what can only be described as a state of absolute fear." She reached down, petting the plant like the others, "That's what you wanted to hear, though, right?"

_**Batman**_

Skies became filled with clouds and rain as the homeless in the shantytown pointed Bruce to an abandoned apartment complex that was due for deconstruction in about a month. He followed said directions, using his grapnel to shoot towards the top of the building and climbing over the edge so he stood over the top apartment. There, the vigilante marched silently over a skylight window. This only brought him more questions, however. So, he turned toward the balcony of the apartment, sliding down so he was just outside of the complex.

The door to the outside was unlocked, so he simply pushed his way into the dark rooms. Lightning struck, giving the boy half a second of light, but it was plenty to confirm that the room had nothing in it.

_This doesn't feel right. _Regardless, the boy moved forward. The training he went through over the years allowed him to practically see in this kind of darkness, but with the amount of black mold and the warping floorboards he wished he couldn't. The apartment looked like it had been uninhabited since before he was born.

The room connecting to the balcony was the living room, although apart from the size of the room there wouldn't be any way to tell. Every other room connected to the living room, that being two bedrooms and one bathroom. The larger room was where he started combing the carpet for any ingredients or even finished drugs that were left behind. He's seen other labs before, even ones that were evacuated. Something was always left behind, even if it was bleach being used to cover up what they didn't want to deal with. Yet, every tactic he tried to use wound up with nothing but more mold and ammonia.

Bruce frowned, but before he could get up he heard the turning of a doorknob.

The door opened and a flashlight beamed over the living room. Said beam only met floor and wall, showcasing the mold and soft floorboards. Two men walked in, the one in front sighed before turning to his partner. "Alright, this is the place. Looks like no one's been here though."

The partner laughed, "Maybe the Bat went to Ivy's place. What an idiot!" He walked past the first thug, turning around and pointing his thumb towards the bathroom, "Aye, man, gotta take a leak. I'll be back."

The man with the flashlight sighed as the other was already making way towards the lavatory. He shouted at the fleeting criminal, "Fine, but make it quick!" He walked forward himself, inspecting the room with the flashlight. He quickly found his eyes over the balcony window, cocking one eyebrow up as he shouted back to his partner, "Hey, you remember if we closed this window this morning?"

The partner had just turned the toilet seat up, unzipping his pants and getting ready to release the floodgates, "Don't talk to me while I'm doin' this man! Makes it more difficult." There was silence, which allowed him to get to business. On that end, it didn't take long to finish up, so he zipped back up and flushed the toilet. "Alright, now what were you sayin'?"

He rounded the doorway, finding an empty room with no sounds other than the rain that sprinkled on the balcony. The man's brow scrunched, lightly making his way towards the middle of the room, where the skylight let in some moonlight. He turned towards the bedrooms, "Hey, you still here man?"

A thump interrupted the rain, the source of the thump sounding close. The man turned towards the balcony, raising his fist which turned into a miniature anvil, "This ain't funny!" Another thump sounded as something brought shade down on the man. Quickly, he jolted his head back, peering at a shadow that stood above the skylight. "What the-?"

The shadow moved, breaking though the window and sending an object down with it! As the object fell, the henchman cowered in order to shield his eyes from the glass. When the object landed, a flashlight rolled away from it.

"Byron?" He looked back up, the figure from before gone. He looked down at the balcony, the shadow now sitting on the railing. Before the man could even scream, something launched out of the shadow towards him, penetrating his thigh and immediately pulling him towards the shadow!

He let out a scream, both in pain and in fear. Fingers attempted to carve into the old carpet in order to slow the approach, but nothing came of it. It didn't take long to feel himself become more and more saturated from the rain. The back of his neck was grasped, pulling him up and shoving him so that he had a perfect view of the street below, ten stories up.

He screamed again as he was pushed over, the back of his neck being grabbed again and turning him over so he faced the building he was being thrusted off of. He was now face to face with the Batman.

"A shipment of ingredients listed this building as the destination. These ingredients make a fear inducing toxin, so where is the lab?" The growl Batman had become known for interrogated the thug, shaking him above the street as he finally asked his question.

The criminal shook his head, still somewhat in shock by the pain in his leg. "T-there never was any lab."

"You're lying!"

"N-no, I'm not! I swear to God!"

Bruce grabbed the wire of his grapnel hook, pulling it. The man screamed again, this time being much louder. Bruce didn't keep the pressure on for too long, eager to get more answers.

The criminal got his bearings before responding, "Listen, I'm telling you the damn truth! There never was any fucking lab!"

"What about the politicians and high-ranking Falcone henchmen that were sent to Arkham?" Bruce put his face in his victim's face, "They were sane when they went in."

"That wasn't from a damn drug, though!"

"Then what about the second location you and your pal were talking about? Ivy's lab!"

The criminal latched onto Batman's arm, gripping for dear life, "That – That was an ambush!" The man's eyes began to dart back and forth before he smiled wickedly at Bruce, "Just like this was."

Bruce turned around in a flash, being met with a man in a plague doctor's mask and a suit. His hand was stretching towards the billionaire. A gas dispersed from the man's hand with an orange color to it. Bruce threw the criminal into the apartment, managing to land on the balcony on his knees and knocking the new addition to the conflict back into the room! Bruce tried to hold his breath during the throw, but it came at no avail. He breathed in the gas!

He looked up, the darkness beginning to envelop his surroundings.

_Focus! I need to warn Aizawa! _He tried to reach towards his communicator, but he found himself jumping backwards into the railing instead as a herd of bats emerged from the darkness. They were attacking him, managing to scrape through the armor and pierce his skin with their teeth! He scrambled to get them off, brushing them to the side, but as one was swatted away, two would take its place. In front of him, another entity began to rise, casting a red aura that covered the room in front of him.

It began to speak, it's voice distorted and stabbing Bruce in the back of his skull, "You like to show people a taste of fear, eh, Batman?" The cackle that came afterwards, it was like thorns churning his bones, making his heart strain as it felt like it was trying to burst from his chest! "With my quirk, Fear Gas, I'll be able to make you feel something ten times worse! What you feel now seems to just be a whiff of the stuff. You didn't take all of the medicine!"

Bruce stood up, grabbing one of the bats as it tried to go for his eyes. He smashed it against the railing, causing it to burst. "Y-you… You were the one that…"

"Yes, I cleaned up the mess that was Falcone's locked up cronies." The figure began walking forward, each step acting like a tremor and sending Bruce off balance. "Let me introduce myself properly, little bat." The man finally stopped, only inches away from the boy. The mask seemed to shift, the nose turning into serrated mouth, a black liquid falling from it. Through the lenses of the leathery mask was a monster, one that screeched and tried to claw its way out of the lenses with killing intent. "My name is Scarecrow, Batman. I am fear itself."

Bruce swung his arm forward, striking the man and knocking his head clean off. _No, I didn't- I couldn't have hit him that hard! _He looked at the arm that struck, his knuckles covered in blood and the red liquid spreading down to the rest of his hand, covering his gauntlet and dripping onto the floor. The boy stepped back, slamming into the railing once more.

"Bruce Wayne!" A strong voice called out. He turned around, standing in the center of a courtroom now. His mother and father stood in front of him. Thomas stood above him, his arms crossed. His mother held onto her husband, tears rolling down her face. "I'm disappointed in you. You were supposed to save Gotham, help her people!"

Bruce's shoulders slumped, "But, Father, I'm trying! I didn't mean to kill him!"

"You aren't trying hard enough, Bruce." The man responded, turning to Martha Wayne.

His mother looked back up at the boy, her red tears strolling down her face, "You're just a monster! First you couldn't save us, now you're becoming what we died from! How could you?"

Bruce climbed the fence of the podium, trying to get closer to his parents, "I couldn't save you, I was just a boy! You understand, don't yo-?"

His father grabbed him by the collar, pulling him up, "All I understand is that you're making excuses! Even now, you're letting people die."

"W-what?"

His mother grabbed him by the wrist, screaming at him now, "You let Eraserhead help! And now he's going to die because _you _decided to let him help! He's probably already dead!"

His father shook his head, "You are not my son." He lifted Bruce up further before looking down. A door opened under where the boy was being held. Tears began to roll down Bruce's face as he gripped his father's hand as hard as he could. "You're only a bastard, doomed to fail."

He began to fall into the dark hole. Bruce scrambled onto anything to grab, but nothing came to him! Only the bats, scratching him as he fell and even pushing him down faster. His face, his chest, his shoulders, he thighs, everything burned. Then, it all came to a halt.

Bruce was back in the rain, his back in pain and him no longer where he once was. He pushed himself up with one hand, falling down before he got up an inch in a scramble. His face landed in a puddle, getting him back to his senses. He pushed again, getting on his knees and looking around quickly.

He had just fallen off of a car, one he had dented and broken all of the glass to as he landed on it. He looked up, Scarecrow looking down at him before moving back into the building and out of view.

It was time to leave.

Batman ran, limping into an alley just so he could gain some distance from the scene. He pressed his fingers to his ear, connecting to Eraserhead, "Aizawa, do you copy? The labs are a trap!"

_**Eraserhead**_

The woman raised her hand forward and Aizawa found himself trapped in a green rope as he got the message from the vigilante. He had no time to think about the strain in the Batman's voice but it would be a topic of conversation when they meet up later. _If _they meet up later, Eraserhead had to remind himself. This situation was still dire and even though he used his own quirk on the woman, which should have temporarily disabled her quirk as long as his eyes stayed open. It seemed like it only made the plants move slower and without as much strength behind it.

_Damn, she wasn't lying when she said she was one with the plants. _The teacher cursed as he attempted to throw his tendrils at her, which only managed to be blocked by a blockade of thorns which rushed in front of the green woman. The last of his usable cloth around his neck were destroyed. As they were, the sharp stems were retracted to their original place.

"We'll have none of that!" She laughed, taking her steps toward them, "Perhaps we should bring your pals in blue out in the open as well, Eraserhead."

A loud crash sounded in the next room, large vines emerging from around the corner and making their way into the living room. Both Harvey and Jim were tangled in the green foliage. They struggled to get out, looking for any amount of leniency they could get where none seemed to be. This only made the Ivy laugh more before she turned back to the tired hero ensnared in plant stem. The green plant began to carry him closer to the woman.

"Ah, as expected from sacks of meat like yourselves. So easily swayed by the look of a woman and her words, in one way or another." She took hold of Aizawa's chin as he got close, putting her face directly in front of his, "Even now, you're wrapped around my finger with no way to resist what comes next. Soon, the Batman will be within my grasp in much the same way."

"There never was a drug lab here." The teacher sighed before turning back to the woman with more stern in his glare, "So, what's Falcone planning to do with the drugs at Dixon Docks?"

"Oh, those?" She chuckled, "Those are going somewhere else, South America. No clue why, I didn't care to ask."

"So, he's just acting as a middleman? I find it hard to believe the boss of the last crime family of the city would do something like that without incentive." The teacher tried to pull his hand away from the grasp of the plant, but it still didn't give, "What about you? Why are you doing this?"

"That's an easier answer, Eraserhead." She leaned in, her mint breath meeting his face as she grabbed the back of his head, "I want to take control of the industrial world, and crush it."

"How are you planning on doing that?"

She pushed forward, her lips connecting to his. They stayed in that position for a few seconds, the woman laughing to herself as she pulled back and turned to the other boys in the room. She raised her arms and stretched, strutting into the middle of the room.

"Now, he's under the control of Poison Ivy." She let the plants drop the hero. He dropped to his knees, his face pointing to the floor. "My lips are laced with a neurotoxin, one that takes complete control over the mind of whomever I kiss."

Harvey scowled, trying to push himself forward, "C'mon, Eraser! Don't let this broad getcha so easily, fight it!"

The old hero looked up, facing the others. His eyes were not his anymore. The irises, rather than being the typical brown or were red. He quickly stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled it out. He threw a cloth tendril forward and struck the Poison Ivy in the face. She was sent off balance, but quickly recovered and glared at the teacher with fire in her eyes!

All the other men that were captured were released. When they were, they ran to the tired hero's side. They were prepared for the fight this time. Both officers had their guns pulled out and Nezu stood behind them all.

"You had extra!" She growled, rubbing her cheekbone, "How were you able to resist my Pheromone Kiss?"

He returned with a glare of his own, "I never blinked since the first time I erased your quirk. It seems that was one thing that was completely erased."

"Yeah! An' now we got ya at the ropes, lady." Bullock pointed the pistol at her head, cocking the hammer back and readying the chamber for a shot, "So why don't you give up an' give us all you got on Falcone, then we'll let you go to Blackgate."

She began laughing again, stepping back, "Oh, you think you've won, do you?" She raised her hand and reached into her shirt, pulling a familiar grey capsule from between her breasts for the four to see.

Aizawa stepped forward, readying the back-up cloth for another strike, "Where did you get that? That shipment was seized by police an hour ago!"

"That shipment was for normal distribution. Falcone gave me this formula, the perfected serum, ahead of time. He was adamant on this operation be completed without a hitch, and this would have been the thing to make my victory a certainty." She uncapped the capsule, revealing the needle of the syringe. "Time to end you four and get on my way to killing the Bat!"

Eraserhead was about to throw a tendril forward, but was interrupted by Hawks ringing in the his earpiece, _"Eraser, there's a black car speeding towards the building, and it's only speeding up!"_

The woman slowly raised her arm to her neck. Eraserhead knew he didn't have enough time to get the syringe and now with the added factor of reinforcements coming in presumably to help Poison Ivy, this was about to be a narrow chance of victory!

_"Aizawa, get down." _A growl emerged from the earpiece.

It clicked. The hero turned, tackling the officers and grabbing Nezu with a cloth tendril just as the vehicle burst through the front of the house! It slammed against Poison Ivy, sending her farther into the house and away from the group she previously would have had cornered. The dust and pollen circulated in the air, causing the men to cough excluding Bullock who simply staggered to his feet.

"Okay, what the _hell _was that!" The large man shifted from a calm voice to a yell. He pointed to the car, "Please tell me this is our back-up."

The passenger door was opened, and out crawled the boy in grey. Batman looked much more pale than he had seemed the last time Aizawa saw him. He did land on his feet, however, slamming the door shut and turning to the four men with a nod. He turned to Ivy.

"What'd I miss?" He asked.

Eraserhead picked himself up, wrapping the clothe around his neck like a scarf, "She had one of those drugs in the syringes, she called it a perfect formula. The shipment at the docks were a mass production of them." He turned towards Ivy as well, trying to peer through the dust for any sign of her, "Think she made it through getting ran over?"

"She isn't dead, if that's what you're asking." Batman turned back towards the tired hero, "Did she use the serum?"

He shook his head, "I think you stopped her from using it."

"Then I'll let you handle her from here." He turned to walk out of the building.

Eraserhead turned to the officers, who were still staring at Batman with their mouths ajar. "Can you two handle bringing her in?"

James came to attention, nodding to the teacher. He pulled Harvey out of his trance and they got to work while Nezu followed Aizawa out with the vigilante. But when they got out of the house, Batman was gone. With a sigh, Aizawa turned to the furry principal.

"What a peculiar fellow." The principal nodded towards the teacher, "You asked about Falcone earlier. Is that Batman involved in that?"

Aizawa nodded, "Him and I made a deal, and on my end I promised to take Falcone down before I returned to Japan."

"Ah, so you want that Batman to join U.A.? He did look the age."

The hero nodded again, "I was hoping there would be something to incriminate him in Ivy's lab, since it was one of the locations the shipments were supposed to go to."

"Luckily for you," the principal brought out a tape recorder, his smile a reassuring one, "I figured it was something like that. I was recording the whole time. With this, plus the men we found at the shipping yard and the drugs, which if memory serves me right is considered a bioweapon if used at the right concentration."

"In other words," the man looked up to the sky, catching a glimpse of the moon as water sprinkled on his face, "Falcone is going to jail before we leave."

**Japan**

_**Diana Prince**_

It was around two now, and the boy made progress. Although to Diana's standards it wasn't significant, she cheered him along the whole way. The man with golden hair that sat next to her when she first arrived eventually got up and returned to his original spot next to the driver's side of the truck. By now, the junk was loaded into the truck as high as it could go so Yagi called for a break for a few minutes so he could unload it at a proper landfill. Needless to say, Izuku deserved to fall right on the ground and rest for a bit with how relentless he had been in his training.

Diana could only smile and pick herself up so she could stroll to where he laid. She crouched down, "I can tell through your efforts just how much being a hero means to you."

He laughed to himself through his heavy breathing, "Y-yeah, it was basically a dream of mine since I w-was a kid." He tried to pick himself up, but his arms were shaking as he did. The girl helped him, grabbing his torso and lifting him up so he could stand on two feet. It was here that she finally noticed just how much taller she was compared to him. She stood at 177 centimeters, but he looked roughly 10 centimeters shorter, his hair only helping that image a small amount.

She smiled, "The dream of a child, huh?"

He began scratching the back of his head, his cheeks turning a shade of pink, "I-I suppose that's kinda s-stupid, huh? I mean, I was just as k-kid after all, so t-that would make sense! B-b-but for someone my age to think something like that still? Of c-course, it's not guaranteed and I-I'm sure that I'll be up against others that deserve it more…"

Diana interrupted him by patting him on the back, which made him step forward to keep his balance, "Children have some of the most pure of dreams. I find it admirable that you would pursue something as simple and as difficult as wanting to save others!" She smiled, wrapping her arm around him, "I have that very dream myself, after all. Let us help each other fight for truth and for what is right, Midoriya-kun! Let us both become heroes!"

"W-wait, does that mean you're joining U.A. Hero Academy, too, Prince-san?"

"If that's your path then I will join you, friend!"

Tears began welling in his eyes as he looked up at the girl. He smiled back at her, nodding as he wiped the water from his eyes on his arm. "Right!"

Their moment was interrupted by the sound of a siren. Diana turned around, meeting eyes with the dog-headed police commissioner. She smiled, waving to him, "Tsuragamae-sama! Have you come to enjoy the view of the beach as well?"

The man growled, "No! Why are you out of the police station?"

"What do you mean?" She folded her arms over one another, "I got my permission!"

"Oh? By whose authority?"

"Hayashi-sama, the clerk." She nodded, placing her hands on her hips, "I told him I needed to refresh myself, so I came here to do so!"

The man put his face in an open hand before sighing loudly. He turned to the boy next to her, then turning back to her, "Who is that boy?"

"My friend, who will be a hero one day, Midoriya-kun!" She announced, wrapping her arm around him again, "He is training here for that pursuit."

The man nodded looked to him, then back to her again, "You need to come back until we can contact your parents."

She grumbled, "I already told you that it is impossible to contact _anyone _from Themyscira!"

The man slammed his hand on the railing, "Themyscira doesn't exist!"

"Old friend!" A voice from behind the commissioner boomed. He eventually stood next to him, the large form that Diana remembered as All Might. "What seems to be the problem here?"

The dog-man turned to the larger man with a sigh, "Oh, nothing. Just dealing with a delinquent."

Diana jumped up, coming face to face with the dog with her cheeks puffed in frustration, "I'm not a delinquent, I speak the truth, Tsuragamae-sama!"

"Greek Gods are myths for a reason, Prince-san." He went to grab her but she backed up so fast she had an afterimage, to which he only got more frustrated about and slammed his fist against the railing again, "Which is why you _are _lying about this 'Themyscira' place and about being Amazonian! Those kinds of things aren't real!"

The number one hero put a hand on the officer's shoulder, "Let's calm down now, Tsuragamae-sama, we shouldn't discount things so easily."

"How do you mean, All Might?"

"Well, I know of another hero from America from when I made my debut there. His name was Jay Garrick, called himself Flash. He's retired now, but when he was a hero, he told me the secret to his abilities." The smiling hero put his hand to his chin, "In fact, I'm sure he told me that he was in fact quirkless. That he tapped some sort of energy to make up his speed, or something."

"Okay, make your final point, cause I know you want to make it."

"All I'm saying is that there are things that are beyond what we see, and new things should never be discounted." All Might put a finger in the air, "Take that bat demon from Gotham, for instance! He fights crime, and yet it's been said that he possesses supernatural abilities. Perhaps her abilities are somewhat similar."

The commissioner crossed his arms and closed his eyes, moving his head left, then right, then straight up, then he looked down with a sigh, "What do you propose we do with her then?"

"For now, she needs a proper place to stay and the opportunity to pursue education. Last time I met her, she saved the day before even I arrived, so she's likely to try to become a hero."

The girl rushed forward, nodding, "Yes, a hero, with my friend over there!" She pointed to Izuku, who jumped stiff.

All Might continued, "I'll see what my agency can do expense wise to find her a place within Musutafu, so you can continue the investigation."

The dog-man didn't respond for a second, crossing his arms and frowning as he repeated the head movement from before, "Fine, I suppose it is inhumane to keep her in the police station." He pointed a finger at her, "But if I find out you've done any vigilante work while under that roof, you'll go right into a jail cell!"

The girl grabbed the commissioner in an embrace with the number one hero, almost making All Might's back strain, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She reeled back, pumping her fists into the air, "You won't regret this, Midoriya-kun and I will be the best heroes you've ever seen!"


	6. The Calm Before the Storm

_**Fido123a: Thanks, I'm trying to pace things right just so nothing feels too rushed while not dragging things out too far either. As for Deathstroke, perhaps I'll include him. I'm throwing a few ideas in my head for now about how to incorporate other characters into the mix. As for your nitpick, you're right. But, with Batman's gauntlets, they've been shown in Batman Begins to be capable of breaking swords. Considering the comics are, let's be honest, exaggerated, I didn't think it would be much of a stretch for Batman to be able to break through Shota's scarf with those armblades.**_

_**dperson3569: I'm not exactly sure which other DC Heroes we will see, but I'm going to make sure that the inclusion is natural for the story and actually makes a difference. Or at least blends the two worlds neatly, whichever seems to work best.**_

_**That's it for Q&A! Don't be afraid to review and write what you think about this story, I love that people are engaged in this.**_

_**I've dragged this on long enough, so just enjoy this chapter!**_

* * *

_**Gotham City**_

_**Momo Yaoyorozu**_

The clinking of glasses and happy chatter of the crowd filled the girl's ears. Momo had just walked in with her parents, both of whom were heroes of Japan which prompted the host of the party to send them an invitation. There were plenty of heroes already there from what she could see from all around the world. She recognized a few of them, but most of them were heroes from other countries, thus outside of her scope. Even the heroes from her country weren't as recognizable due to them not being in their hero outfits and preferring suits for the occasion, she only knew some of them due to their most recognizable features like Hawks and his bright red wings.

The room almost wasn't decorated apart from the ribbons hanging from the railing of the stairs. On the right from the door, Momo managed to get a look at the refreshments consisting of freshly made finger foods and drinks. There were even two fountains, but both fountains were cycling brown liquids which she thought one might have been chocolate and another being… something else. To her left, the girl saw a lounge room where guests sat relaxed on couches and lounge chairs. Some were even playing a game of pool that was only barely visible from where she stood.

Momo herself was in a long, scarlet dress and red shoes which complimented her black hair and white bracelet well. Her long, black hair was curled into waves and her make-up worked to compliment her dress as well. Her lips were coated the same shade as her dress and her mascara was just enough to emphasize her eyelids. In her hands was a small black purse, which she held in front of her with both hands, taking in the foyer and the crowd.

The girl was no stranger to mansions, as she lived in a mansion herself. This mansion, however, was something else. The whole building was probably near double the size of her own house, and the foyer was a testament to that.

Her mother was the only one that travelled with her to the party, as her father took it upon himself to stay behind and look after the agency. Her mother had the same shade of black hair Momo did, though her hair was somewhat shorter than the daughter's and had a tan dress at a similar length as her daughter's. Her purse was the same color as her dress and was more akin to a normal purse than the one Momo carried.

The two were shortly greeted by a skinny older man wearing a suit and bowtie. He smiled warmly to the two women, bowing forward and speaking up with a very accented Japanese, "Welcome, you must be the Yaoyorozu family! I am Alfred Pennyworth, the butler to the young master." The women bowed in return to his. The two parties stood straight again, and the man stretched his hand forward, "Shall I take your things to the guest room for your stay?"

Momo and her mother both placed their purses in his hand with a nod. Her mother smiled to him, "I extend my thank you to you and Wayne-kun, Pennyworth-san."

"I shall send the message forward, Yaoyorozu-sama."

The woman laughed, waving her hand in front of her face, "Please, Pennyworth-san, you're too complimentary." She returned to her formal posture, "Yaoyorozu-san will do fine."

"As you wish, ma'am. Enjoy the party, the both of you." The butler bowed his head with a smile before turning from them and making his way up the stairs. The women didn't hesitate to begin their way towards the crowd to make conversation with the masses to enjoy the party as instructed.

_**Aflred Pennyworth**_

Alfred opened the door to the study, where the billionaire's suit still wasn't made up all the way. The collar of the dress shirt hadn't even been buttoned all the way. What was distracting him from that was the TV, which was stationed to the hearing of Carmine Falcone. The look on Bruce's face didn't bring the butler any ease. The boy's right hand was gripping a pen and his left held a notebook, on which was littered with notes and was still being filled as the TV's audio filled the room. Bruce wasn't even taking the time to look at the paper as he scribbled everything down.

A sigh bellowed from the butler, causing the billionaire to turn towards him, "You invited all of these people to your party, Master Bruce. The least you could do is tend to them!"

The boy turned back to the TV, grabbing a remote and muting the sound, "I need to ensure that Falcone is actually sent to prison."

"We will both know of the outcome by the end of the night, sir. Right now, we have other matters to attend to in the foyer." The older man marched towards his ward, forcing his way to his collar and buttoning it up completely. He had just begun to work on the tie before continuing, "Bruce Wayne, much like Batman, must make his appearances. You had better make sure that appearance is a good one."

"The only reason I threw this party was to throw them off my trail. A nail in the coffin to confirm that Bruce Wayne couldn't be Batman." The boy set the notebook to the table next to him, "Whether people's impressions of me are positive is irrelevant."

The butler stopped, eventually grabbing Bruce by the chin and tilting his head back to his eyes met the butler's, "Don't become so obsessed with your crusade that you'll throw away everything your parents built." The man released his ward, finishing tying the bow and gently placing his hand on the boy's shoulder, "Both Batman and Bruce Wayne can do good for the city, and I'm sure you'll be able to find that balance, Master Bruce."

Bruce smiled, brushing off the butler's hand, "Don't worry, Alfred. I know what I'm doing." The boy lifted himself off the chair, taking his march towards the door as he buttoned his dress jacket, "Don't forget that my parents were what brought me back to Gotham in the first place."

With a sigh and a smile from the butler, the older man followed the young man as they entered the hall that connected the foyer with the other wings of the manor. "I know, sir. I just worry, that's all."

_**Momo Yaoyorozu**_

The girl followed her mother, entering conversations simply to greet other heroes and to make appearances. They started with those not associated with Japan, specifically with an older man who was talking another man who was wearing a large mechanical suit and who obviously had blue skin. He was probably in his late thirties or early forties, and had a bright, straight smile bore across his face. His hair was short and blonde, although it was clearly beginning to show the aftermath of old age with grey that seemed to start lower on his head. His suit was a classic suit and tie but had a pin on the tie that was in the shape of a golden lightning bolt.

The man bowed his head, then attempted to speak in Japanese but with much messier results than the butler, "Hello… you have the name… of what?"

Momo's mother smiled, bowing her head before speaking in English, "Although we appreciate your courtesy, this may be easier if we speak English. We are the Yaoyozoru family." Momo bowed her head and the three rose at the same time, "My name is Isoji Yaoyorozu. This is my daughter, Momo."

The man laughed to himself, scratching the back of his head, "Ah, I'm Jay Gerrick, I'm a hero from Keystone." He beckoned to the other man, "This here is Victor Fries, he's a Gotham native."

The man in the suit marched forward, a smile on his face, "Indeed I am, it's a pleasure to meet the two of you." His voice echoed through a speaker, which made his voice seem almost mechanical like a robot. He bowed himself before lifting himself back up, "I have to say, it's quite a surprise to see so many people show up to this charity."

Isoji nodded, "Indeed. In fact, my daughter and I almost decided not to come. That is, until we had read the invitation a bit further."

"What about a letter?" The blue man cocked an eyebrow.

Jay laughed, "Come to think of it, my invitation wasn't anything more than a note."

The four were interrupted by a small, animal-like man who stood just past the hips of Momo, "Not everyone had gotten the same invitation, from what I've gathered." The principle of U.A. Hero Academy chimed, "For instance, Mr. Wayne sent a selection of invitations to my academy, plus two letters."

Jay crossed his arms, "Why two?"

"One of the letters was a bit of a personal matter, not about the party."

Momo placed a hand on her chin, "Is that why you had come to Gotham a few days before the event?"

The animal-man nodded, his small smile ever-present, "Yes, that would be the case. You're Momo Yaoyozoru, correct? From what I remember, you've already been admitted into my academy."

The girl nodded, bowing her head, "Thank you for the opportunity, sir!"

The principle laughed a little, waving his hand, "Now, now, no need to be so formal. We're at a party, after all, we should enjoy ourselves!"

Jay Gerrick stepped back into the conversation, "So, why was it you had come to Gotham, chum?" A grin showed his white teeth, "Was it this Batman fellow I've been hearing so much about?"

The principle stared back at the hero, "Between us heroes, and future hero, yes."

Momo scrunched her brow, "Batman? Is that a villain?"

"Hardly," the principle turned to the girl, "He saved your future teacher, after all. He's quite the spectacle here in Gotham, and from what I've seen there's a good reason he is."

Fries shifted his weight to his left leg, "From what I heard from the detectives at the offices yesterday, Eraserhead and the vigilante got into a fight."

"They did, but midway through Aizawa found himself falling through an elevator shaft. The Batman broke his fall. Then he saved me, Aizawa and two of Gotham's officers from a villain later on." The animal-man put his paws behind his back, "Needless to say, he left quite the impression on us."

Isoji crossed her arms, "He is still a vigilante, however. He should be held accountable for acting without a hero license."

Jay laughed, "Well, from what I hear, that's been pretty hard to do! That rascal seems to know his way around a fight."

"The fighting isn't the difficult part," Victor chimed in, "I'm one of the more active heroes and Gotham, and I've only ever caught a glimpse of him twice."

Isoji shrugged her shoulders, "Either way, tonight isn't about the Batman. We should be focused on the party."

Jay smiled his white grin, "With spunk, I would hope!" He turned to the principle, "You mentioned a second letter earlier."

"Ah, yes, the reason why so many decided to arrive!" The animal-man placed his hands behind his back again, turning to the stairs that led to the second story, "I believe the man of the hour will explain that himself."

Momo turned to the stairs, catching a boy with short black hair and a suit waving to everyone. He had a smile on his face and a glass in the hand he wasn't waving with. Behind him was the butler, who continued past the boy and went on his way to tend to the guests. Everyone turned to attention, clapping as the boy stood ahead of them. Eventually, Bruce Wayne began gesturing for everyone to lower their voices, which they slowly complied.

The boy stood proudly as he spoke, "First of all, I wanted to thank you all for coming! I know I asked you all to come here on short notice so in return, when you all go home, I implore you to abuse the first-class. All expenses coming in and going home will be paid by me." There was a pause in his speech, giving way for the crowd to applause this announcement. The billionaire continued, "But, tonight isn't just a party. I invited you all here because I have a vision, one where the world can sleep sound and people can cross the street without worrying that they might become a hostage for some criminal's whim. That's a sentiment I'm sure you all share with me. As such, I'm planning on opening a new department under Wayne Enterprises that will be supporting hero academies across the world!"

There was a pause for applause again before the boy continued, "However, because this is a new department, I'm only taking in a few hero academies at a time! I've already worked out a contract with U.A. Hero Academy to push forward the best technologies available to protect and support their students." He nodded to Nezu, who nodded back. Bruce continued, "Of course, I will be supporting Gotham's academies as well. However, there are two other districts we will be supporting, and _that _was the real reason I invited everyone here tonight. There will be a drawing for all of the schools that have representatives present."

The butler emerged from the crowd, marching up the steps with a top hat in hand. He stopped beside the billionaire. The boy handed the glass in hand to the butler before turning away and grabbing one, then two, then the third piece of paper from the hat. He opened the first piece of paper, lifting it up and reading it off, "Keystone City's Hero Academy," he pulled out the second piece of paper, lifting it I much the same way, "And Metropolis' Hero Academies!"

Applaud followed suit from both Momo and the other guests. Jay looked back to the group with a smile as he clapped, "Well, would you look at that! We all lucked out here it would seem!"

Nezu turned to Jay, "A congratulation is due to all of us."

"Indeed," Bruce interjected himself to the group with a man with no hair on his head and with a form fitting suit following beside him, "I hope I'm not interrupting you all here, but I thought it would be easier to meet the winning representatives all at once."

Nezu smiled, shaking his head, "Not at all, Mr. Wayne! It's good to see you again."

"The same to you, Nezu." He turned towards the others, his smile ever-present as he beckoned towards the man beside him, "C'mon, Lex, don't be shy!"

The man chuckled to himself, bringing his hands up in defense, "Bruce, you forget that I've been in contact with these men for some time already!" He still reached forward, taking the heroes' hands with a firm shake, "It's a pleasure to see you all again."

"Likewise." Fries nodded.

Jay simply nodded, smiling as he took the hand.

Nezu reached up for his turn, "We don't get the opportunity often enough, Luthor."

Lex finally reached Isoji, taking her hand more gently, "Although, I don't believe we've met yet."

She gave him her name before turning to Momo, "This is my daughter, a next generation hero."

Lex took a step forward, holding a hand towards Momo, "I see, it is a pleasure to meet you both." He took a step back, nodding to Momo, "It will be a hard road, but with determination you can achieve anything." He turned to the group, "I'm sorry to cut the greeting short, but I do need to be in Metropolis for a meeting later tonight." He then turned to Bruce, "Send the check to me and I'll be sure to distribute it first thing in the morning."

"Of course, Lex. Have a safe flight." Bruce turned to the others as the bald man made his way towards the main entrance, Alfred already prepared with his jacket and suitcase at the door. Momo found it somewhat amazing how he had everything just as someone needed it. Bruce continued, "The rest of us can enjoy the party, right?"

Isoji nodded with a smile, "Luckily, we can stay to help celebrate."

"Great!" Bruce smiled, beckoning towards the food, "If any of you get parched while you're here feel free to take anything from the dining room. We even have a chocolate fountain _and _a root beer fountain!"

Momo placed a finger on her chin, "One of them is a root beer fountain?"

Bruce turned to her, nodding, "Yeah, I hadn't ever seen one and I really wanted two of them. Isn't it neat?"

"Which is which, though?" The girl turned to the host.

He looked back to the dining room, "You can't tell?"

"They are both the same color, after all."

"You have a point, I guess we should have labelled them, huh?" The boy scratched the back of his head. He turned to Alfred, who sighed, "I guess you were right, Alfred."

"I'll get a pen, paper and tape, sir." The butler went his own way. Mr. Fries had already left the group while Isoji and Jay Gerrick had started their own conversations.

Bruce turned to Momo, smiling, "I hope your flight here wasn't too uncomfortable."

The girl waved her hand side-to-side, "Oh, not at all, Mr. Wayne! It was definitely what I would expect from first-class." She pulled her arm close to her chest, "Are you sure you should be paying for everyone's flights, though? That's quite the bill."

"Don't be so modest!" The boy shrugged, his smile still present, "It's all for a good cause. Besides, you're all guests of Gotham coming here because I asked you to come. If I hadn't accommodated for it, it would make me a bad host. Especially for those like yourself coming from halfway across the world!"

"I suppose I can't argue with that. Even so," the girl bowed, "Thank you for being so considerate to us all."

Momo felt a finger gently push her head up. The billionaire replied as he made eye contact with her, "You're the one who's becoming a hero, right? If anything, I should be thanking you."

The girl straightened her back, looking up at Bruce and giggled to herself, "Well, I'm not a hero yet, so perhaps you should save your thanks for if I do become a licensed hero."

"I'll take you up on that, Yaoyozoru."

The girl nodded, "I'm sure you'll stay true to your word." She scratched the back of her head, "I don't mean to cut conversation short, but is there a restroom nearby?"

"Ah," He pointed towards the staircase to the hall on the left side, "It should be the first door on the right down that hall."

Momo bowed her head lightly before making her way to the towards the hall.

_**Shota Aizawa**_

The judge's decision was made, and it couldn't have been more confusing. The case that was made was well done, but the defense was surprisingly sound. Eraserhead knew that Carmine Falcone had heavy ties in the government, so it was an uphill battle in the first place. With the defense that was made, he might have even gotten out of it. Instead, for a reason that escaped the tired hero, the crime lord was given the insanity sentence.

Aizawa tried to interrupt the court, but the judge made it clear that his decision was final. Carmine Falcone, the man who was responsible for the indirect deaths of countless people and who was responsible for the direct deaths of a few, including the other crime families he had superseded. After murder, which should have been enough alone to set him up with a lifetime sentence, Aizawa had brought up the information for the illegal drugs and the production labs for the drugs and stacked on a sentence that would have been worse.

Insanity was definitely not something he was suspecting. From what Batman had been saying, Falcone should be fine in Arkham Asylum. A part of the hero knew that was the goal of Falcone's. He could control everything from within those cells, albeit with a lot less control than he once had.

Overall, Aizawa was annoyed. The two officers, Gordon and Bullock, shared his frustration. Although it was to a lesser extent than the hero.

Gordon was the first to break the silence as the three sat in the coffee shop, "Should have expected him to pull something like this out of his ass." He sighed, scratching his head, "Although, he is still behind bars. That will make dealing with criminals a little bit easier."

"That isn't the issue." The hero replied, taking a sip of his tea. It was obviously cheap; the hero would probably feel the tea in his stomach later that night. But for the sake of staying awake, it was necessary, "The issue is that Carmine still has his grip on Gotham and its government."

Gordon waved the hero's point to the side, "That will be dealt with in time, and it will take a lot of time, I'm sure." He took a swig of coffee.

Harvey groaned, "Don't you guys ever take in the victories we got?" The larger man waved his hands in the air, "We took down the most powerful crime boss in Gotham freakin' City! This is the most corrupt city in the world, and yet we still managed to do it. Take more pride in your work, fellas."

The larger man took a French fry as the other officer sighed with a nod, "Yeah, you're right. Even getting him in prison was something that a month ago I wouldn't have thought possible. Then this Batman vigilante comes around and everything was flipped on it's head." Jim took a sip of his coffee before continuing, "Of course, we have you and your co-workers to thank for it too, Eraserhead."

"If I'm being entirely honest," the hero sat back, looking up at the dusty ceiling fan which was rotating ever so slowly, "I'm not sure if I did anything tonight. I only presented the evidence that the Batman found himself. Even then, I'm sure he would have found a way to get the case the same sentence we had tonight."

The red-headed officer raised an eyebrow, "You seem to have a lot of respect for that man."

"He's just a boy, not a man." The hero looked back to the others, "Yet he was able to take down two decorated heroes in a single instance. Granted, I didn't know what his quirk was which gave him the advantage. He knew both my quirk and Hawks' quirk. He hasn't earned my respect, but he has piqued my interest."

The large officer waved him off, "The only thing that's peaked is my frustration! I've been ready to take down that vigilante since he took down that first lab bust that should'a been ours."

"It's 'piqued,' not 'peaked.'" Gordon corrected.

"Huh?"

"Piqued isn't the same thing as peaked."

"What are you talking about?" The larger officer pointed a finger at Gordon, "You're sayin' the same thing!"

"No, they're two different words, Bullock. Piqued is to become interested in something. You said peaked, as in to reach the highest point."

The larger officer stared at the other for a moment before scratching the back of his head and groaning, "Whatever, you get what I'm sayin'." He stood up, "I'm takin' a leak, you two can have yourselves a spellin' bee while I'm gone."

He did as he said he would, leaving the younger officer and the foreign hero to their own devices.

Gordon broke the silence, taking his mug of coffee, "Thank you for taking time off from the party you were supposed to go to for the case, I feel like without your help we wouldn't have gotten this case solved."

The hero was unfazed, "I don't know. For some reason I still feel uneasy." He crossed his arms, "He shouldn't have been sent to Arkham on an insanity plea, there wasn't enough evidence for that in the defense."

"I agree with that, the judge seemed to be on his own page near the end of the hearing." Gordon lowered his brow, "Actually, the judge was one of the people suspected to be on Falcone's payroll. The fact that Falcone was surprised by the sentence has me concerned."

"Do you think it has anything to do with the supplier of the quirk enhancers?"

The man shrugged, "They did seem to have their own strings in Gotham, but there wasn't any connection we could see to government officials. Just Falcone and the drug labs." The officer began scratching his forehead, "Plus, Ivy said they perfected their formula. They don't need to experiment anymore in Gotham."

"We won't know for sure if the drug supplier didn't have anything to do with this until we interrogate him ourselves. For now, that's something that's going to have to stay open. When I get back to Japan, I'll talk to the Nighteye Agency to get them to look into it." Aizawa took another sip of tea, "I'll keep you up to date on anything we find regarding Gotham and the corruption involved here."

The officer nodded, "I'll leave it to you then. We'll have our own problems with criminals trying to fill the gap in power left behind by Falcone anyhow." The officer lifted his mug to cheer, "For now, the Falcone case is closed. That's enough to make me happy!"

_**Momo Yaoyozoru**_

Momo had just finished dealing with business with drying her hands with a towel. She took a step out of the bathroom, turning back towards the party and starting her way back. The first door on the right was much farther than Bruce made it out to be. She began her march back to the main room, her eyes naturally finding themselves peering into the rooms on the what was now her right. Most of them were simply dark, but one room caught her eye.

She was reluctant to look inside, due to it being basically an invasion of privacy. When she looked inside, she could see a piano on the left side of the room from the large room. The left side had a single chair, a small table with a picture frame on one side and a bust statue on the other side of the chair. Past the chair was an old grandfather clock between two bookshelves. The wall on the other side of the door was essentially three large windows spanning the whole wall, separated by columns.

She took a step inside, beginning a light approach towards the bust. It was a sculpture William Shakespeare made of a kind of copper which was clean enough for her to be sure that it was polished regularly. She moved on to the picture frame, leaning down to get a better look in the dark. The picture was of a family of three. A man who was most likely in is forties with a groomed mustache next to a woman with blonde hair. Between them was a boy with the same color hair as his father, but his eyes reflected the pale blue of his mother's.

"Those are my parents."

Momo nearly shrieked, jolting around to the host of the party, who had one hand in his pocket and without the smile on his face he had before. It wasn't so much anger or resentment, but one of sadness.

She immediately bowed, "I-I apologize! I shouldn't have wandered away from the party."

Bruce started walking towards her, and she was sure that he was going to tell her to leave. Instead, he stopped beside her, picking up the picture of his parents. Momo slowly rose from her posturing and looked up at the boy.

"I'm sure you heard what happened to them, right?"

The girl pressed an arm against her chest, looking down before she answered, "They passed away, right?"

"They were murdered. And I watched as it happened." He lifted his other hand, placing it on his own cheek, "Sometimes, I think I can still feel it. Her blood on my face."

Momo didn't know what to say, she wanted to comfort him, but didn't know how. That made her want to leave, but she felt that would be beyond rude to do, considering she was the one that intruded the room. She couldn't even manage to open her mouth for the attempt.

"I envy you. Well, people like you, that is."

Momo's eyes widened, "Envy me? I… I don't-."

"You do know why it is so significant that I'm back, right? It's not just because I'm the heir to Wayne Industries." He turned to her, his eyes lowered, "My family, from the beginning, were quirkless."

Momo glanced at the frame Bruce was just now setting down. He turned to her, prompting her to look back to his eyes.

"No matter how much money I have, or how much influence I have, my family were always below those with a fraction of our power and with even decent quirks. But that isn't why I'm envious." He stepped towards the window, looking out to the courtyard, "I'm envious, because if my father had a quirk, even something as mundane as a quirk that makes a bright light, it might have saved them." He paused, took a deep breath, then continued, "For the longest time, I blamed those with quirks. I believed that the system promoted that kind of power and the inequality between us and them made us an easy target."

He turned towards Momo again, "But, I remembered a conversation my father and I had once. He told me that even though we can't be Pro Heroes, we can still help in our own ways. It may not be in the same way Pro Heroes help, it may not even be as much as Professional Heroes, but we can help." Bruce smiled, though it was obviously forced, "I only wish I could do more."

Momo looked down, still piecing together what she should say. Maybe what she was thinking wasn't what she should have said, but she had to say something. "I think you're wrong." She looked up, catching Bruce with slightly wider eyes, "I believe that people like you make more of a difference than heroes can! You might not be saving people from burning buildings, or stopping a villain from committing a crime, but without people like you who believed in us, who supported us with your technology, or helped pay for damages, the Pro Heroes would have died long ago!"

Bruce's smile was gone now, his gaze going to the grandfather clock, "It might be a crazy notion…" He paused, sighed, then turned back to her, "Do you think someone like me, someone without a quirk, could be a Hero?"

Momo took a step back, "I think it would be difficult, to be sure." She lifted her arm and activated her quirk. A matryoshka doll emerged from it shaped and painted to resemble Bruce Wayne's father, which she grabbed and pulled out as it was created. She placed it on the desk next to the picture frame, "But even I only have a quirk like this, it only allows me to create objects that I know the molecular makeup of. That alone isn't enough to make it as a successful Pro Hero, the rest of what I have to use is a normal person's strength." She looked up at him with a smile, "Although it still isn't advisable, I think that with hard work and training, even you could be a Pro Hero if you tried."

There was a small pause between them, but Bruce smiled and walked toward her. "That's not a sentiment most people would share. Probably for good reason, too." When he reached her, he placed a gentle hand on her side, "Come on, we should join the party again, Momo. Before the others begin to spread rumors about us."

She nodded, taking the lead and making her own way back towards the party. Bruce, however, turned towards the matryoshka doll, taking it apart. He placed each of the descending sizes back to back, which revealed the order of the dolls to be Thomas, Martha, Alfred, the Bruce himself. He turned back to the doorway, taking his lead outside, leaving the dolls in front of the picture. He returned to the party; a final decision being made in his mind that would change his plans almost entirely.

_**The Next Night**_

_**Shota Aizawa**_

He stood on the GCPD Rooftop watching the skies; clouds of rain were on their way to cover the city. Soon, Gotham City would be drenched, and the teacher would be on his way out of the city and back to Japan to begin his investigations over the quirk enhancing drug. First, however, there was unfinished business with a vigilante. Aizawa wasn't sure if he would even show up, but he had to hope he would. There was no other way he could think of to get the boy's attention.

The tired hero, however, was getting tired and the time he had to wait was almost up. He looked down, checking his watch for the time anxiously.

"What are you here for?"

Aizawa looked up, meeting the boy in the in the bat-themed costume. Shadows covered his face so to a person that didn't see him in the light, he might have looked like the demon criminals described him as. He was standing directly in front of him, making Aizawa doubt once again if his quirk really was something like shadow morphing.

The teacher put the hand with the watch in his pocket, looking back to the boy with a tired look on his face, "I wanted to see you, to see if you'd considered my offer."

"You want me to join your academy." Batman reiterated; his form was unmoving apart from the cape being pushed by the wind. "I believe we still have something else to discuss before we start with that."

"Falcone was sent to Arkham Asylum. It may not be a prison, but he is behind bars."

"He was a puppet." Batman tossed something towards Aizawa. He caught it in the air, taking a look at what was a photograph. Falcone was standing in front of the glass, which had blood streaked all over it. He was scraping the glass to the point he had broken into his muscular tissue. "Falcone's men, the ones with ties in government and that had strong ties with operations, they went insane shortly _after _being put in Arkham. At first, I thought Falcone was the one that was making the orders. A man that goes by the alias of Scarecrow used his quirk to make his victims go insane through a fear toxin he released into the air. Carmine has been exhibiting the same behaviors since he entered his cell."

The teacher looked back at the vigilante, "Does that mean that Falcone wasn't in charge of his own men?"

"He was, but someone else was controlling him." Batman lowered his gaze, "He didn't need to go to Arkham, he didn't even need to go to prison on his sentence. I've seen his men get off with much worse allegations and direct evidence. Whoever it was, they were looking for an excuse to get rid of him."

"James Gordon and I were talking about that, actually. We thought it might have been the people in charge of the quirk enhancing drugs."

"That's unlikely." The boy raised his head, "The locations of both drugs were coming from the same port, but that wasn't the source of the drugs. There was another location on the ingredient for the fear drugs, someplace outside of Japan. They're more likely to be the ones who controlled Falcone."

"How so?"

"The ingredients themselves weren't being used, but instead were being used as a way to get the drop on me. It was a form of misdirection." Batman continued, "Scarecrow's quirk was what he dubbed 'Fear Gas.' In order for him to be able to give the convicted a dose, he would have had to been close to them right before they entered their cells."

"I presume you have a reason that you know this."

"He hit me with the gas two nights ago. Luckily, I only consumed a small amount, but even the small amount I ingested sent me into a state of psychosis almost immediately."

Aizawa looked back at the photo, "He worked at Arkham Asylum then."

"His name was Jonathan Crane, and he disappeared after Falcone was incarcerated." The boy turned to the city, "He never clocked out of Arkham, despite his shift being over almost twenty-four hours ago. Long enough for him to be considered a missing person."

"How do you know that Scarecrow didn't have anything to do with the creators of the quirk enhancing drug?" The tired teacher asked, "They were both a part of the same shipment so it would make sense that they would have the same plans."

"For now, it's just a hunch, but the quirk enhancing drug was simply distributed to criminals at random. They were just trying to get the most optimal formula." The vigilante crossed his arms, "The ones behind the fear toxin were tying loose ends, most likely those they deemed as unimportant to their plans or a liability. Not only that, but the fear toxins were pushed under the rug more readily than the enhancers. Even now, it's simply labelled as a neurological narcotic, but we both know it's less of that and more of a weapon."

The hero crossed his arms now, shaking his head, "Pamela said that the ingredient wasn't powerful enough to be considered dangerous."

"Maybe not as a powder, but as Nezu said it still was a bio weapon. Not as the powder, but in the form of gas."

"Scarecrow's Fear Gas?"

"I analyzed my blood after the encounter, as well as the blood of those recorded to have been effected by a gaseous form of the ingredient. It was a perfect match." The boy's gaze lowered once again, "Scarecrow's quirk allows him to recycle the ingredient in his own body and amplifies it."

"The manufacturing process, the use of the fear toxins and the reactions to it are all different than the quirk enhancers." Aizawa turned away from the boy, "I can see why you might think the suppliers are different then."

"Regardless, with the closing of Falcone's case, we opened another two." Batman stepped into the light, half of his face being visible now, "But those will have to be worked on at a later time. There are other important things to worry about here, isn't there?"

The teacher nodded, turning towards the boy, "Are you accepting my offer of recommendations?"

Batman lowered his head again, his white eyes no longer visible. He didn't answer right away, allowing a pause that seemed almost awkward to the teacher, but he endured. It was a big decision, after all. Aizawa didn't even see a big reason for him to join, he seemed to be doing fine in Gotham. The criminals here still considered him as inhuman, like a demon. The kid had an advantage on the criminal underworld right now, especially considering he was known as the entity that took down Carmine Falcone almost singlehandedly.

He finally answered, "If I come out into the light, the Batman criminals once knew will die. They won't fear me in the same way they do now."

"Is fear really the best way to deal with criminals?"

"It's the method I found, and it _does _work. Especially when criminals have broken bones to prove it." The boy sighed, "But I do need to continue investigations in Japan, in regard to the drugs. If I were to go there as I am, I would be severely outnumbered compared to here in Gotham."

The teacher placed a hand on Batman's shoulder, lowering his own gaze on him. It wasn't anything cold, but it was a look of understanding, "Don't beat around the bush, kid. If that would have been what stopped you, you wouldn't have tried taking on the crime lord of Gotham." The teacher smiled, "U.A. doesn't require you to identify a quirk, believe it or not. If our students were to use the diagnosis about how their quirks worked, we might not be able to train them in the best way we can. We would become too clouded by the preconception to look for better alternatives. It is optional."

The boy pushed the teacher's hand off his shoulder, "That isn't the only reason. My identity is a large part of it, as well."

"Unfortunately, there isn't any getting around that." The teacher cocked his head to the side, "With the Sports Festival, too, people will know who you are. But I have a feeling that with the way you go about things, people will notice Batman more than the person underneath."

The boy stood still, obviously contemplating this decision heavily. It was a big deal, especially for someone like him who already made many enemies. Particularly those who supplied the drugs, they would want him out of the picture for meddling in their affairs. Then there were the criminals that he had beaten along the way. If someone like that man with the crocodile quirk were to follow him to Japan, and just so happened to catch him by surprise, or someone like Pamela Ivy wanted to hold a grudge for him killing her plants with that car, he could be in some serious trouble.

Still, that risk would mean that his reward would be the backing of other heroes from Japan and from Gotham. Heroes like Mr. Freeze being on his side, or someone like Jay Gerrick with his Super Speed quirk, would be able to help him. In Aizawa's experience, when you're working with teammates who are as efficient as you are, things tend to me many times easier.

The boy finally turned to the teacher, then sighed before reaching for his mask. He pressed against the back of his jaw, prompting the mask to pull itself apart into pieces and leaving enough room for the boy to pick it up off his head. Underneath revealed a boy with blonde hair, a small scar on his left temple, and even allowed his pupils to change from white to brown.

"My name is Michael Lane, and I accept your offer to join U.A. Hero Academy."

* * *

_**I apologize for focusing on Batman so much on these first couple of chapters, but there wasn't much for the other characters to really do. These next few chapters will include them much more than Bruce to compensate.**_

_**So, just to clarify this *is not* just a glorified Batman story if anyone got that idea.**_


	7. Day Zero

_**Clark Kent**_

Today was the day! The Kryptonian could hardly contain himself as he marched through the terminal. The plane had only landed a few minutes ago and even though he knew there was still a whole day before the entrance exams it felt like he was about to go right to U.A. Hero Academy and show everyone what he was made of! Clark was literally floating right above the ground, rising above the heads of commuters like him. He didn't even notice that everyone was giving him disapproving looks and making rude comments towards him.

It didn't take long before he heard someone blow a whistle and force him to bolt his head toward the sound. A security guard with one eye that was completely black marched towards the American.

"Stop right where you are!"

The boy complied, stopping midair. The security guard placed a hand on Clark's shoulder as he approached, pushing down. The man wouldn't have been able to make Clark budge had it not been for him following the movement of the man's hand. As the officer got a closer look at the boy, he sighed, "Tourists…" the man crossed his arms, "Do you know why I stopped you?"

Clark laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head, "Yes, sir. I'm sorry for using my quirk, guess I just got too excited is all."

"Excited? Over Musutafu? You expecting to see All Might or something?" The man looked around at the crowds, "Where are your parents, kid?"

"Oh," the American slipped his hand into the side pocket of his backpack and pulled out the paperwork for the trip. It was only possible for him to be there now because of the Kansas Hero Organization. Apparently, when he gave his name to the hero that arrived at the fire after Clark saved the principle and students, she pulled some strings with a few of the heroes she knew to get him on the roster here in Japan. If it wasn't for the cowgirl hero, he would have had to wait until next year. The boy handed the papers over to the man, "I'm here for my education, sir. My parents were supposed to stay back home."

The officer smirked, handing the papers back to the American. "Ah, so you think you got what it takes to be a Pro Hero?" The officer crossed his arms, "What makes you think you got what it takes, huh?"

Clark raised an eyebrow, "Are you asking me what my quirk is?"

"Sure, that's a start." The man sighed again, clearly trying to get under Clark's skin, "But it takes more than having a good quirk to be a hero. You gotta know how to _use _your quirk!" The man chuckled to himself, "What is your quirk, then?"

Clark scratched the back of his neck again, this time because he really didn't know how to respond. Technically, he didn't have a quirk, but his friends at school just knew him as the boy with super strength and the ability to fly. That was only the tip of the iceberg though…

"Uh, Super."

"Super? What kind of quirk is that?"

"The kind that's super." Clark laughed nervously, "It's complicated, but hopefully you agree with me when you see me in action!"

Clark tried to sound confident but missed the mark. The security guard simply scoffed with a shrug, "Sure, kid. Before you go, I want to check your bag." With a nod, the American boy handed the man his luggage. The laws of Japan were much stricter than in America, so he wasn't about to resist the security guard. It wasn't as if he had anything illegal on him or anything. The man's black eye began to glow as the man simply peered at the back, closing the normal eye. After a few seconds, he handed the boy his luggage and gave him the green light. And with that, Clark was off running towards the pickup lot and his smile back on his face. As he rushed through the terminal, he heard the officer yell back at him, "Don't use your quirk again, kid! It's illegal!"

The Kansas boy waved before making his way to the terminal, where he took the bus that stopped near his new living quarters.

The American eventually reached his apartment, though it took half an hour. He placed his bags on the small table that sat in the center of the room, gazing around to get familiar with his new surroundings. It was a small place, one that wasn't too big but was just big enough for one person to live in. Everything he needed was in a room only about one and a half the size of his room back home, including a private bathroom, a kitchen which was as barebones as it got, and a main room. The main room, Clark guessed, would be used as both a bedroom and a living room for him as he stayed there for the next few years. That is, if he really was going to make it into U.A.

As excited as the Kansas boy was to be given a chance to prove himself as a hero, he still had plenty of worry in his head. He wondered if his abilities would be enough. He had plenty of gifts, but so did everyone else, things that even he should be wary about. If some of the current heroes were anything to go by, the Flash with his super speed that looked like it rivaled Clark's or All Might who looked like he hit about as hard as Clark imagined he would himself.

"Wait a minute…" the boy looked down at his hands, frowning as he stared at the knuckles, "Have I ever hit something before? Like, _really _hit something?"

He tried to think back to Kansas during the fourteen, almost fifteen, years he had been there. He had shoved things around, but they were relatively light things that wouldn't have even been considered heavy for a lower class super strength quirk. The heaviest thing he lifted was the gymnasium ceiling, which was impressive but still pushed Clark towards struggle! Granted, that was extremely heavy and was at night when Clark's powers are weaker.

The American grabbed his head and groaned, "I don't know how to hit something and I'm trying to become a Pro Hero! What is wrong with me?" The boy wailed. As silence poured over the room he heard a sudden knock on the door. Clark turned and give a nervous laugh to himself. "Guess that was a bit loud, huh?" He marched toward the door, "Coming!"

He opened the door, a forced smile on his face, "Yeah, sorry about the yelling. Everything is-."

"Did you say something about being a hero?" A girl with a confident tone interjected.

Clark looked at the girl in front of him, she was shorter than him, but only about one or two centimeters by his count. She had long black hair and bright blue eyes that stared back at the Kryptonian's own gems. She was wearing a gray sweatshirt with a picture of a popsicle on the front and blue jeans. Her shoes were simple sneakers and she had a sticker of an ice cream cone on the side of her left shoe. She had a closed smile on her face.

The alien nodded, scratching the back of his head, "Um, yeah, sorry. I was just worried about an entrance exam and-."

"You're going to go to U.A. as well?!" She gleamed, gripping the boy by the shoulders, "Can we be friends?"

Clark was taken back, it almost seemed like a bad idea to keep talking to this girl. He stood there for a second, waiting for her to offer an explanation, but none came. She simply stood, staring Clark down. Her eyes were quite pretty, though. The boy smiled and nodded, albeit reluctantly. "U-um, sure. I don't mind."

The girl beamed her smile again, this time showing off her white teeth before the girl jumped back and pumped her hand in the air, "This is truly a remarkable day!" She turned to Clark, placing her hands on her hips, "You said you didn't know how to hit, right? I know the perfect place to practice!"

"Woah, time out," Clark made his arms cross like an 'X' before taking a step back, "I don't even know who you are. I'm not going anywhere now, anyways. I need to unpack my things."

The girl puffed, knocked on her own temple, "Right, sorry, I got a bit carried away." She placed a hand on her chest, bowing forward, "My name is Diana Prince of Themyscira, and you are?"

The American smiled, bowing himself how it was shown in the textbook of Japanese mannerisms, "Clark Kent. Of Kansas."

They both stood straight again, Diana placing her hands behind her back. "May I come in, Kent-kun?"

"Sure, Prince, uh, san. Is that the right one?"

The girl nodded with a smile as she entered the apartment and slipped off her shoes.

_**Bruce Wayne**_

Alfred sat across from him on the plane, a laptop in front of him that was transparent, to an extent. It was enough for the billionaire to see that a list of items on a checklist turn green. As the final box illuminated the green light, the butler closed the laptop and nodded to Bruce.

"Michael Lane's identity has been officially constructed, Master Bruce." The butler sighed in relief, "I wish you wouldn't have made the decision to create a new identity on a whim like that; if we had time to construct this new ego's background we could have given a more plausible reason why this no-named boy has the resources to military grade technology. He wouldn't have just sprung onto the face of the Earth so suddenly either."

Bruce turned to the window of the jet which overlooked Musutafu, Japan. "The information entered through the bat-computer should be foolproof. Besides, I didn't have much of a choice, Alfred. This is an opportunity I simply couldn't ignore." He turned back to the butler, a hologram appearing and showing multiple screens of Japan's Pro Heroes in action, fighting villains and saving civilians. "U.A. Hero Academy is bound to have mountains of information in their databases. Information that Batman can use to better predict other villains and to be more prepared for them."

"But why join the academy, sir? I thought Wayne Enterprises was already going to be creating support gear and upgrade security. Couldn't we simply copy the information during the transfer of data?" The butler took a sip of tea before continuing his thought, "It doesn't exactly seem like a necessary step for Batman come into the public eye."

"I looked over the contracts U.A. helped construct for the terms they agreed to. Most of our resources will go towards the support gear, the only security we gifted was keycard-activated door locks and equipment for outside of the perimeter." Bruce closed the hologram, standing up as he moved toward the back of the jet. He eventually reached a locker, which opened as he approached and revealed his prosthetics for his face and the wig of orange hair, "Batman would have become known like this to the public eventually. This is just a bit ahead of schedule is all."

The billionaire began to put on his fake face as Alfred nodded, "I suppose you're right. I don't think criminals will fear you any less with the knowledge you have other heroes to call for back up either."

Michael Lane turned back to the butler, nodding, "Besides, they still don't know what Batman's quirk is. That mystery will carry the fear into criminals still, among my other parlor tricks."

"You know what you're doing, Master Bruce. I'll leave you to it then." The butler turned back and rested the back of his head on the seat, "Head out before me, sir. I'll head to the penthouse in a few minutes. Oh, and don't forget to hand the documents over to your teacher."

With a small smile, the billionaire began to march forward before stopping at the entrance of the jet. He looked back at the butler, "Are you sure you're insistent on staying with me? You still have the option to go home."

"I will do nothing of the sort, Master Bruce. We had this discussion, and that's final."

The billionaire nodded and sighed softly before looking forward and continuing the march towards the small city of Japan.

_**Diana Prince**_

After some patience on the Amazonian's part, as well as a bit of nagging, her and Clark were finally at the beach where Izuku was in the middle of his usual training. The garbage that was along the beach was practically gone now, and people had started to enjoy the ocean here once more! It took a lot in Diana not to help Izuku, if not simply because she wanted to enjoy some time at the beach and having fun with her friend. Make that two friends now, with Clark. When they arrived, she waved at Izuku and Toshinori.

Izuku donned his usual timid grin, as he waved back to her, "H-hey, Prince-san! Who's that with you?" Something that she did notice that went away was most of the stuttering. At the very least, he seemed used to her now.

She smiled back at the two, beckoning towards her neighbor, "His name is Clark Kent of Kansas, he's going to be a hero like us!"

"R-really?" Izuku turned to Clark, bowing to him, "I-I mean, it's n-nice to meet you, Kent-kun! M-my name is Izuku M-Midoriya!"

The taller boy raised a defensive hand and had a smile on his face, "No need to be so formal, Midoriya-kun. We're friends here, right?"

"Huh?" The green-haired boy looked up in surprise.

Diana stepped forward, wrapping an arm around Clark's neck, "Indeed, I asked if he wanted to be friends and now, we're comrades!"

"O-oh, w-well, I, u-uh…"

Toshinori walked forward, hands in his pockets, "So, what brings you out with us today, young man?"

"Well, I-."

Diana flexed her arm, "He came here to learn how to punch! He's going to the entrance exams and has yet to know how."

The scrawny man turned to the boy, "You don't know how to throw a punch, lad?"

The American boy shook his head, "It's not that, really. I just don't know how hard I can punch is all." He looked down at a clasped fist, "I've always been told to keep it in check, you know?"

"That's your quirk, then?"

He shook his head, "Kind of."

Diana stepped forward, pulling up her sleeves and revealing two silver bracelets that ran up three quarters of her forearms, "You can use your quirk on me! I can catch it with my unbreakable bracelets and coach you myself, I am a trained warrior after all!"

That much was true, if anyone could teach Clark how to punch, it would be an Amazonian warrior!

The man with golden hair laughed with a cough near the end, placing his hands on his hips, "Although I like your enthusiasm, Prince-san, using your quirks outside of being a hero is strictly prohibited. Especially in a public space such as this."

"Then how will Kent-kun know how to use his quirk?" the girl protested. She was about to continue before she was interrupted by the Kansas boy.

"Prince-san, he's right. The laws are there for a reason; to keep people safe. If I used my quirk and someone accidentally got within the crossfire of it, that wouldn't be good." Clark looked down at his hand, smiling, "I'll just have to do my best to figure it out at the entrance exam."

Diana crossed her arms. She understood his reluctancy, but she didn't like how easily he gave into it. With a sigh, she threw up another suggestion, "Is there anything you can do that won't hurt anyone?"

"Like what?"

Diana began to float off the ground, flying around Clark's radius, "Can you fly or anything?"

Toshinori interjected with his arms crossed, "Young lady, those who can fly are few and far between. You're lucky to have something as unique as that. There's not much of a chance anyone can do the same."

Clark smiled at him, "Actually," he began to rise from the ground himself. "I can fly."

Both Izuku and Toshinori were surprised. The boy was more in awe whereas Toshinori was just generally taken aback.

Diana could only grin as she spun around to his front, meeting him face-to-face. "You and I are quite alike, Kent-kun! Are you a demigod as well?"

The boy shook his head, "Um, no, nothing like that. I'm just lucky I suppose."

"So, you have a flight quirk and a strength quirk I take it? Quite the combination there, lad." Toshinori stepped forward, hands in his pockets, "You're going to be quite the hero when you're accepted into U.A. Hero Academy."

"You mean 'if' I'm going to be accepted." Clark chuckled to himself quietly, "There's bound to be others that are really strong, too. I shouldn't put myself above people I haven't met."

A smile formed on the man's face, "No, I suppose you're right. Though, you shouldn't be too humble either, young man." His head lowered, "As long as you believe you will win and you take action to do so, that's all you should be focused on."

Clark stared at the man for a second, then took a deep breath before looking back at him with a smile, "That's good advice. I feel a lot better now, actually."

With a nod, the man turned back to Izuku, "We should continue our training, young Midoriya. If this is your competition, we need to be as prepared as we can be!"

Izuku nodded, "R-right!"

With that, the green-haired boy turned towards the rest of the garbage that laid spread out to finish the training for the day. Diana and Clark returned to the ground, the girl getting practice in with her sword and the boy heading home so he could get himself situated and get enough rest for the next day.

_**The Next Day**_

_**Clark Kent**_

The Kryptonian put his gym clothes on which consisted of pair of red shorts and a blue t-shirt. The irony wasn't lost on the boy, that the colors of the clothes seemed to match the colors of his family's robes. He even considered buying some red tape to put over his shirt to match his people's symbol of hope. Ultimately, he decided against it and that it was more trouble than it was worth. Especially considering that the most likely outcome of these clothes would be that they would be damaged.

He'd heard a few rumors on the internet before coming to Japan that the practical exam was nothing to scoff at. The brochures said that the practical exam consisted of robots that actively attacked students. The boy from Smallville wasn't too concerned about most of the robots apart from one particular tier of robot. There wasn't much information given on it, but those online that talked about it said that if one of these robots came into your exam area the only option would be to run. After that, he figured the biggest problem would come in the form of the written exam.

Clark met up with Diana, who was wearing a simple tracksuit and worn, red leather jacket over it, at the bottom of the steps that led to his apartment. With a proud posture the girl began her stride towards the school before the two of them. As they walked, Clark began to glance at her, trying to catch any hint of nervous jitters that he had. In a way, the boy was glad she didn't seem as nervous as he was.

The Kryptonian must have been staring for longer than he should have, because Diana glanced back with an eyebrow raised. He tried to turn away, but she spoke up before he could even attempt to play it off.

"You're strange to me, Kent-kun."

"That's a bit harsh," he spoke under his breath before speaking up to her, "Sorry for staring."

"I'm not talking about that."

Now she was face to face with him again, hands behind her back as she was studying him.

With a chuckle, the Kansas boy raised an eyebrow of his own, "Then, what are you talking about?"

"I don't know yet." She turned back around and continued her stride, "Consider it Athena's guidance, but you aren't normal. I suppose by the end of today, I might learn if you truly are or are not."

For a minute, Clark was suspicious that she figured out he wasn't human. He swallowed a small lump in his throat before thinking through it. Even if she had, there was no way she would figure out he was an alien, not with some of the terminology she used.

He rushed forward until he was behind her again, "What about you, Prince-san? You keep talking about Greek gods as if they were real. You even called yourself a demigod!" She turned around with a smile on her face, "Don't tell me you actually believe that you are. Do you think that I am?"

"Like I said," she wrapped an arm around him, almost dragging him forward towards the school again, "by the end of today, I might learn!"

He let himself be dragged, looking up at her, "So, you're expecting me to believe that the Greek gods, like Zeus, Hermes, Ares, Poseidon – all of them are real?"

She shook her head with a smile, "Least of all, do I expect you to believe it. However, I have seen the Gods and am in fact the daughter of Zeus himself. All others in this land seem to be ignorant of them, and I have accepted this by now." With a shrug, she let go of the boy as they found themselves at the gate of the school, "However, we must stay true to ourselves, don't you think?"

Clark looked at her before turning back to the school with a grin of his own, "Yeah, I agree." Even if he had agreed, he still didn't comply with it.

In front of them, they scanned the crowds to get a good look at the different kinds of people they would be competing against. It was through this scanning that they found a familiar head of green, curly hair floating almost sideways next to a girl with medium-length brown hair, bubbly pink cheeks and a brown coat that matched her hair. Happily, the two walked over, catching the two of them just as Izuku was frantically thanking and apologizing. He caught the two of them walking towards him and smiled with a wave.

"Kent-kun! Prince-san! For some reason, I didn't expect to really see you here."

Clark nodded, "It's a small world, isn't it?"

"Who is our new acquaintance, Midoriya-kun?" Diana grinned warmly towards the brunette.

Izuku tried to get a few words out, but utterly failed at doing so. Luckily, the brunette replied in his place, "My name is Ochaco Uraraka. Nice to meet you both!" She bowed towards the two of them.

They returned the gesture, Clark giving his name and Diana giving hers. Clark was about to speak up before they were interrupted by another boy that was the same height as the alien. He had dark blue hair and glasses. His tracksuit was a bit nicer than what the Kansas boy had, being visibly softer than his own. His face donned a stern expression, which complimented his statement very well.

"If you're here to chat then get out of everyone else's way and stop wasting our time!" He didn't wait for any replies before he marched away, as if he never said anything to the four of them at all.

Diana placed her hands on her hips, puffing her cheeks, "That's not very nice."

"But it is very true," Clark turned to the others, giving them a smile, "We should get going and ready for everything they might throw at us."

Uraraka nodded, stretching her arms and legs out with a yawn, "I suppose you're right. Well, good luck you three!" She began to trot away, waving behind herself as she did.

Clark turned to Diana and Izuku with a nod before making his own way towards the U.A. Academy building. He was almost in the building when her heard something similar to a flag rustling in the wind. Clark turned back, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever it is that he heard. Then a shadow moved overhead, but too fast for him to catch as it moved over the U.A. Academy building.

He contemplated going to look for whatever it was, but when Izuku called out for him to hurry, he decided against it.

**Bruce Wayne**

He stood on a rooftop overlooking the students that were piling in. With a deep breath, he took hold of his cape and spun around, walking towards the A/C unit of the building. Batman tore off the hinges of the cover, jumping through and making his way through towards the control room that would eventually oversee all the practical exams on monitors. It didn't take long to find when the schematics of the building were holographically projected on plastic that separated his eyes from the air. When he found the room, it was clear that no one was in the room quite yet, and wouldn't be until the written exam started.

Bruce pulled the vent cover open towards the inside of the vent, climbing down from the vent and landing in front of the monitors. He peered around the room, eyeing two cameras, of which were replaced by WayneTech just days ago.

With clear access to the cameras, he had them display a loop of the room just before he climbed down and turned to the monitors to get to work. He followed the cables down to the console below where everything would be controlled remotely. Lowering himself below the console, he opened a panel that separated him from the main computer. He quickly located where the cables connected and pulled out a gadget of his own.

It was a simple PWN plug that connect to various types of computers with ease made from WayneTech and other military sources. Untraceable and self-destructible. Bruce placed it on top of the data port, allowing it to collect data not only from that computer, but essentially gaining access to any other computer along the same line. Except, when Bruce attempted to gain access, the information was only partially available.

The billionaire groaned quietly, turning to the cameras. _I can't reach any other access points; I don't have the time. The information collected for these exams being conducted today will have to do. _Just as he finished his thought, he heard voices beginning to wander from the halls. Bruce quickly resealed the console before leaping back into the vent and closing the panel and returning the cameras from their loop.

Just as he finished, the two men along with the principle, Nezu, had made their way into the room. Now Bruce had to make it to the first test, the written exam. As he crawled, he slowly began ditching the suit to be collected later. He left the Batsuit above a bathroom stall that he texted Alfred to bookmark on the schematics and ducked into the stall before making his way towards the exam.

Once he arrived, he could see that the room he was in was only filled with recommended students. The only thing that pointed towards that end was the fact that the room being used was a normal classroom rather than the larger lecture halls he knew would have been used for the normal students. Including him, thirty six students were in the classroom and one teacher stood at the front. It was a woman with dark, almost black hair and a loosely buttoned top which showed her skin a bit too much for a school setting. Everything else seemed in order for a teacher, more or less.

The teacher smiled, "Cutting it close, aren't we? Oh, how I love how young people live on the edge like that."

"Midnight." Michael Lane answered, getting a raised eyebrow from the teacher, "My flight just landed this morning."

"Oh, quite understandable." The woman leaned forward to look at her paper, then tapped the clipboard before pointing towards the only empty desk, which the disguised student already began marching towards. "Looks like you already know you're sitting next to Yaoyorozu, Gotham boy!"

On the desk, a pencil and paper laid on the desk already, so Bruce simply sat down, observing all of the students around him. Only two stood out to him over all of the students. Momo, who for obvious reasons had not noticed who he was but had stolen a few glances towards the boy. The other was a boy with hair that was split into two colors, red on the left side and white on the right side. Shoto Todoroki, the son of the second place Pro Hero, Endeavor.

Rumor had it that Endeavor saw Shoto as the perfect heir to the Todoroki hero bloodline due to his ability to control both his father's quirk and his mother's quirk. That rumor is questionable, however, as any evidence of him using his quirk has only been of him using his mother's quirk, Ice. Either way, he was someone that would have to be watched closely as time continued.

The teacher soon made the call for the students to begin their exams, which Bruce went to work on with all of his notes in the back of his mind.

**Gotham City**

**Jim Gordon**

It was ten at night when the phone to his office rang. He picked up, as he usually did. "Lieutenant James Gordon of the GCPD, how can I help?"

A familiar, raspy, accented voice came through the speaker of the phone, _"Jim, it's Eraserhead."_

"Ah, Aizawa! How goes things?"

_"Well, actually. Our mutual friend decided our deal was beneficial after all."_

"Really? He went for it? My men will be happy to hear-."

_"Don't celebrate yet."_ James was afraid to hear that. He had to take a drag of his cigarette_, "He still has to pass the recommended exams, which are considerably harder than the normal exams."_

"If they're harder, why would you put him in there then?"

_"Acceptance rate is higher. Statistically, he's,-."_

"I got it, I got it. I'll hold off on the champagne then." James rose from the desk, moving towards the window that overviewed his home, "You think he'll make it in though?"

_"He beat me, he better make it in." _There was a pause before he continued, _"He's resourceful. I'm sure he'll make it in just fine. What about Gotham?"_

There was a sigh from Jim, "Where to begin? Crime rates have risen significantly, but that's to be expected from the void in crime being filled. It's unorganized, though. So, we should be able to handle most of whatever comes our way." Jim turned back to his desk, looking over files, "Poison Ivy escaped the prison van and a bigger case involving a potential gang war between the Maroni family and this new guy in town. His calling card is a plastic penguin he left at the aftermath of the massacre, so the case file was named Penguin."

_"Back up a bit, Ivy escaped?"_

Jim bit his lip, "Yeah, escaped. She hasn't made a move yet, and no plants were detected. Our detectives are thinking it's connected to either Maroni or the Penguin case. She is a powerful player, after all." With a shrug, James sat back down, "Killer Croc is still in jail, though. Silver linings."

_"It sounds like you all have your hands full."_

"Yeah, no doubt about it! All hands are on deck and I still feel like we're gonna tip over." Jim ran his fingers through his hair, "The commissioner doesn't want to send a whole squad to investigate the crime family mishaps, so he's shoving it down to me and Bullock to handle alone. Funny thing is that this is probably the closest thing we've had to normal in police business in months!"

_"I will say one thing, Gotham sure is a busy place."_

The lieutenant laughed before nodding, "Yeah, and you took our MVP. Listen, it's and hour and a half till midnight here, and these are the most active hours for the crooks. Mind if we pick this up some other time?"

_"Be careful out there, Gordon."_

"Yeah and watch our mutual friend carefully. We both know he's a tricky one." The officer gave another laugh, "He's probably doing his homework on you all as we speak."

With that, the Pro Hero hung up and Gordon began to make his way to the doorway. He rushed through, grabbing his coat along the way and looking below to find his partner. Luckily, he was sitting at his desk with a cigarette in his mouth as he usually was. Slacking off.

The red head shouted down to Bullock, "Break's over, Harv! We're headed out."

The larger officer lazily saluted his partner and dragged himself to his feet in order to meet him outside at the cruiser.

**Clark Kent**

He finally made it out of the written exam. It wasn't exactly difficult as the test primarily consisted of things that would mostly be seen at any other school. He didn't think he did great, but he did about as well as one should. It was during the explanation of the practical exam that most of what was said was confirmed, four kinds of robots. Single-point, double-point, and triple-point robots. The last robot, however, was the zero-point robot, which was described as more of an obstacle than anything else.

All of this was described after the boy from before with the glasses spoke up towards Izuku doing his usual mumbling. Clark gathered that for Izuku, it was a nervous tick and though the boy with glasses was being rude himself for speaking out, Izuku needed to get his anxiety in check eventually. For now, the Kansas boy had to calm Diana down before she retaliated at him and caused a greater interruption.

It wasn't long before Clark and the other students were sent to assigned busses which would eventually lead out towards replica cities to hold the mock battles. Fortunately for Clark, he was able to be paired with Diana so at least he knew someone. Unfortunately for them both, neither Midoriya nor Uraraka were able to be assigned with them. They wished each other luck and began to make their way towards the busses.

When the two got to the bus, the ride was less than exciting. Clark and Diana held some small talk, but the general atmosphere of the whole bus just set at least Clark on the edge of his seat. He couldn't tell if Diana felt the same, but at the very least she didn't try to bother him while he psyched himself up. He was able to see the city as they approached. The bus stopped just along the outskirts of the city, allowing the students to stop and get a few breaths in before running into the city to start the exam.

He chuckled, turning to Diana, "You ready for this?"

She grinned with an open smile, "I am an Amazonian, I'm always ready for a fight!"

"You haven't contested with someone quite like me."

"Well, what are we waiting for, Kent-kun?" She began to hover forward, turning back to him, "There was no mention of a starting pistol!"

She burst towards the city, flying overhead at the speed of a car! He grinned, getting into a crouch and getting ready to launch, "No, there wasn't."

He pushed forward, quickly reaching speeds that resembled a bullet being fired out of a gun! His mind began to process all of the imagery at the same rate as he moved, making it seem like he was moving at normal speed to himself. Immediately, he spotted three single-pointers and one double-pointer grouped together on the ground with a triple-pointer above on the rooftop waiting to pounce! While he took to analyzing the robots, they hadn't even noticed him yet.

_"Looks like those two contestants know how real heroes work! In the real world, there are no buzzers! GET IN THERE AND GET YOUR POINTS BEFORE THEY DO!"_

Clark rushed downwards, slamming against the pavement and sending a shockwave of force and concrete in every which direction. The three single-pointes were crushed by the shockwave alone, but the double-pointer was only dented. Clark grabbed it by what was the equivalent of a collar, bending the metal as if it were a cloth between his fingers, then twisted his body in order to throw the robot at the one above! It crashed through the building and into the triple-pointer, sending both automatons into the air with enough force to break and disassemble both the robots and turn them into glorified, green shrapnel.

Clark turned to the crowd, who halted as the glass from the buildings above them had finally reached the ground. Clark scratched the back of his head with a light chuckle, "Whoops, my bad."

He turned back to the field narrowly dodging a strike from another triple-pointer who had snuck up on him, "Looks like I forgot to turn up my ears." Clark swung down, breaking the metal with his bare hands with ease and following up the a strong kick to the top of the robot's body, sending it into the ground like an ostrich's head.

The Kryptonian decided it was time to move on, rising up and closer to the epicenter of the replica city. Along the way, of course, he landed a strike on a robot for practically every other building. Breaking them into pieces with a single punch and moving on to the next. At some point, the boy simply lost count of how many of the robots he had broken and destroyed. He didn't even know how many robots were necessary for him to ensure his passing in the practical exams, so it was hard to tell when to stop.

The boy was about to backtrack and find any straggler robots when he consequently heard some odd cracking that sounded a bit too soft for the fighting going on throughout the city.

Clark turned around towards the sound of the cracking, moving quickly to get the right angle on the sound. It was identified immediately as a large piece of debris created; a result of a hole being made at the corner of a building and toppling down. This alone wouldn't have meant anything to the boy, but when a girl with long green hair was too busy fighting a small group of robots to take notice of her surroundings, it was a big deal. Clark threw himself forward, rushing towards the danger of the manufactured rocks about as fast as he came into the city. He slowed down significantly as he reached the girl, being sure to grab her by the waist and the back of the neck as they bulleted under the rocks and narrowly escaping her fate.

Clark landed on the ground, sliding along the soles of his feet until they came to a halt and looked back at the debris now littered with robots. He smiled before turning back to the girl, "Sorry I couldn't save your points for you, too. Are you okay?"

The girl finally looked up, revealing a somewhat blank stare as she picked herself up from his grasp, "I believe so. Nothing is broken or anything." She turned back to him, nodding, "Thanks for the help, ribbit."

_Ribbit? Frog quirk? _He waved to her before rising from the ground and turning to his right, noticing a boy with blonde hair and a steaming bellybutton. Clark smiled openly, pointing a finger gun at him, "Careful where you point that thing, you could shoot your eye out."

The boy looked at him, an eyebrow raised, "What do you mean, _monsieur_?"

"Nothing, just a joke." Clark waved to him, "Take care." Then he burst into the air, rushing towards the next sound of disaster.

This took the form of a student with large hands dealing with robots in front of her while another snuck up behind her through a storefront, ready to burst through brick and mortar. Clark quickly rushed behind her, coming between her and the glass and metal ready to crush her back. Instead, he let his back crush the metal and deflect the glass. The girl finished up with the two robots in front before turning to meet Clark face-to-face. Her eyes widened immediately as she jumped back with a squeak.

The Kryptonian shrugged, letting the robot fall to the ground behind him, "Hope you don't mind that I took that."

She shook her head, "Um, no, I don't mind. You're really tough, huh?"

"Something like that." The boy nodded with a smile. He burst back up into the air, ready to fly towards any other sign of danger.

Overall, it was hard to figure out where people needed help. The fighting and clashing all sounded fairly similar and watching out for screaming was out of the question because the sound of someone screaming out of joy for having fun sounded too close to the sound of fright. Still, whenever something visibly came up Clark lent a hand. Rocks falling on top of a student here, robots getting the drop on a student there, nothing else after that.

It wasn't until he saw Diana on the ground and surrounded by six automatons that he fled to the ground at her back. "You been keeping busy?" He remarked as he landed behind her.

"Not as much as you, from what I've seen. How many times have you gone from one end of the arena to the other?" The girl chuckled.

"Four times, from my count. Want some help?"

"I won't say no to a friend's helping hand!"

She held a hand towards the Kryptonian. When he took it, she swung forward, launching him at a robot and landing him on his feet on the breastplate of it. He grasped the metal head and swung the robot towards another before bursting in the opposite direction taking out three in the matter of two seconds. Diana, on the other hand, rushed backwards and smashed a double-pointer with her elbow. She spun as the other two approached, kicking on of their heads clean off and kicking the triple-pointer hard enough to send its tail through itself.

Clark whistled, placing his hands on his hips, "Now that was impressive. You've got some moves, Prince-san."

She giggled, turning back to him while cracking her knuckles, "You're a brute with seemingly limitless strength. I've seen you fight the other ones, Kent-kun, and you took more time just to show off."

He nodded, scratching the back of his head, "Yeah, I don't mean to do it. It's a bad habit."

It was then that the arena began to shake and loud crashes spread throughout the arena! Screams could be heard across the city and the crunching of metal rubbing against metal sounded to Clark's left, towards the epicenter of the city. As the two examinees peered into the dust that covered the source of the sound, they put two and two together.

Clark turned to his neighbor, "Make sure nobody is left behind! I'll deal with this."

The girl stepped forward, "There isn't any points in stopping it. We both can help stragglers!"

"The longer that thing is out, the more danger people are in, Diana! I can't let that happen for any longer than I need to." The boy began to sprint forward until eventually he used a burst of strength to send him hurdling towards the beast of machinery. As he approached, he considered the best form of attack.

_If I attack the top, it might just topple on top of someone that got behind it. But if I slam down on it, I might just crush someone in the collateral damage of the surrounding buildings. If I lift it, I wouldn't be able to set it down anywhere. Except…_

He slammed against the treads of the zero-pointer, resisting the thing's ability to move forward as easily. It seemed to work, and he could even hear the cheer of students coming from behind! This was going to be an easy win for the Kryptonian, too! That is, until the machine began to move its treads again. It was now bad again!

"Oh, don't tell me this thing has… four-wheel drive!" The boy remarked through strained grunts. It kept going, and going, and going. Eventually moving over Clark.

**Diana Prince**

"What just happened?" The girl stepped back, shaking her head. "No, no, no, that can't have just happened!"

She looked around at the other students, some who had their mouths covered and other screaming towards the outskirts of the city for help. The sirens made it inaudible and it was clear that the faculty was about to investigate. But what was the point of it?

She knew what this meant. They all knew what it meant. Clark Kent had died.

Diana clenched her fist and slammed it against the ground before yelling towards the machine, "What were you thinking?!"

There was silence apart from the siren. She wasn't sure if she was talking about the whole practical exam or the boy. She just knew that what happened was wrong.

As she stared at the machine, she almost thought the people running this exam were insane because she could have sworn that the treads began to move again. No, the whole machine was moving in a very unnatural way for a machine. It was moving upwards. She thought it might have been a hydraulics thing, but that wasn't it either.

It kept going and going and going, until light emerged from underneath. Through that light, there was a small gap, something unbelievably small compared to the rest of the machine.

"Well, I definitely thought it was lighter than it was!" Clark called out, pushing upwards once more, pushing both himself and the machine off the ground! "I said I would deal with this. I gotta go make a delivery really quick!" He rose until he was high above all of the buildings by triple their height, "I'll be back!"

Diana could only laugh as he began to fly away with the machine towards the direction of the school. As he went off to do whatever it was he was doing, Diana began to run around to help anyone who was stuck or injured.

**Bruce Wayne**

He and the other students had only just finished their practical exams when they saw it coming in. It was large and it was coming in hot. The now Michael Lane clenched his fist before turning to Midnight with a scowl.

"Is this part of the exam?"

She shook her head, "I don't know what this is. Everyone, get back!"

All the students except Lane did as they were instructed. Reason being was that through the kicked-up dust and the sunlight obscuring his vision, the billionaire could make out a body. As it landed, the dust had filled the air and it was too difficult to see where exactly it had landed. But the green object had been set down, so Batman stepped forward instead towards the object.

He was on alert once the wind around him began to pick up, eventually sending most of the dust out of the way and further up into the sky. In front of Bruce now, standing with a torn blue t-shirt and red shorts was a boy that was taller than he was by five centimeters and donned a smile on his face. The vigilante's fists were clenched tighter than they were before, and his scowl was deeper staring at the boy. The new arrival had a smile on his face towards Bruce, which was accompanied by a wave. It wasn't returned.

"What are you doing?" Bruce asked coldly.

The other boy slapped the metal hull playfully, "Returning to sender. This thing was causing trouble in the arena."

"Why did you send it here of all places?" Lane crossed his arms, "You do realize an exam is taking place here, right? You're interrupting."

The boy looked around at the teacher, who was simply in awe at the sight, along with the other students.

"Oh," the intruder scratched the back of his head, "Where should I put it then?"

"Back where you found it." The redhead's eyes narrowed, "What's your name?"

"Um, Clark Kent."

"Your accent resembles a farmer's."

"I'm from Kansas." He raised an eyebrow, "Why, are you from around there?"

"No." The boy turned back to the rest of the class, taking his place with the other students with hands in his pockets.

The boy with the big robot shook his head before lifting the robot again and rising from the ground, "Sorry for the disturbance, everyone."

After that, the machine and the boy went back from whence they came. The teacher soon rounded up the other students as they made their ways back inside the building so they could complete the final portions of their exam, the interview. Bruce's mind, however, were on other things as he stood still, looking at the sky with his scowl still present. His focus was brought back to the class when Momo tapped him on the shoulder.

"We should try to keep with the others."

Michael nodded to the girl, glancing back at the sky for just a second before letting her take the lead inside. One thing was made painstakingly clear for the vigilante, that boy, Clark Kent was dangerously powerful. With the right quirk in the wrong hands he could be the power move that would wipe the heroes off the map. The next step Bruce knew he had to take stumbled down to one question that he needed to have answered, _Who is Clark Kent?_

This question would have to wait, as more pressing matters in the form of the interview was the next goal. As the group of students marched forward, Bruce seemed to become caught up in conversation with the black-haired girl.

She had her hands behind her back in an elegant stature as she leaned her head towards the boy, "You're very well conditioned for these exams. Did you have a trainer in Gotham?"

"Not in Gotham."

"Did you study abroad, then? Your school must have thought of you highly to offer it to you."

"It wasn't through a school."

"Oh, I see." She leaned back, getting a feeling in the air that he didn't seem like the talking type, "Who was your trainer, then? If you don't mind me asking."

"I do mind."

The girl nodded, glancing away and filling the air with even more tension.

The boy sighed, finally turning towards her, "He was a man with good intentions but with methods that overshadowed them."

"You said he 'was' a good man. Is he retired now?"

"He's dead." The boy let himself pause before turning his head forward, "Leave this topic there. We're here now so we should focus on now."

Momo nodded, kind of happy to leave such a heavy topic. The group of students rounded the corner and began to march up a flight of stairs, "So, you're from Gotham? I went there this Summer, actually."

Another person voiced in, a boy with ash blond hair and black eyes. He was shorter than Bruce, but only by a few centimeters. Most curiously, his mouth was made up of his teeth rather than them being inside of his mouth.

When he voiced in, he spoke in English, "I heard about that event!" He switched back to Japanese, "Which hero was it that recommended you from there? I heard only a few of the best heroes were invited and I never heard of them visiting any of Gotham's middle schools."

Momo replied, shaking her head, "None did, though I know Eraserhead was absent from the party because he was dealing with a crime in Gotham."

The skeleton-like boy bolted his head in the direction of the taller redhead, "Wait, don't tell me – Eraserhead recommended you!"

The group of students finally reached the interview rooms, each student getting their own teacher to interview at the same time. Michael Lane stepped towards his own room, leaving the other two students as he replied, "Let's hope we're in the same classes, Momo Yaoyorozu and Juzo Honenuki."

The fake redhead closed the door behind him. Juzo, however stood back with his mouth open, "I never gave him my name. How did he-?"

He shook the question off and left for his own room.

In Michaels room, he was met with the familiar face of the principle. Nezu sat at the table on a couch, sipping his tea with a smile on his face. Another couch sat across from the mouse which was identical to the other. A small cup of tea was ready on Michael's side for consumption. On either side of the room's walls, mirrors stood in place, reflecting the mostly white room and the opposing mirrors perfectly.

Bruce shook his head, "I'll stand." He marched so he stood across from Nezu, behind the couch, "Long time no see, Nezu."

"Indeed, Batman." The mouse-man chuckled, "I'm surprised that you even showed up at all, you're more honorable than you let on in Gotham."

"I'm not so concerned with subjective mannerisms of what's considered rude and polite."

"That's evident. That's what I wanted to talk about, most of all." The man sipped the tea once more before setting it down, "I'm going to have a rundown of my understanding of your situation before you respond to it. Is that okay with you?"

No response came from the scowling boy, so the principle proceeded.

"I'm not exactly sure when the rumors started about the Batman's antics, but it was clear from hospital records when you came about. Each instance you were involved in resulted in criminals of every ilk being handicapped in ways that were sometimes incapable of full recovery. However, within the span of a month you alone were able to take down a criminal mastermind with control in every branch of Gotham, Carmine Falcone, and you discovered a link between a supply of drugs to and from Gotham to and from Japan. It is commendable, but also illegal both here and in America considering you did so without a Hero License. Now you're in Japan, a place that is quite different from Gotham in the sense that crime rates over the whole country are equal to that of your single city."

"You're wondering if I'm going to be able to control myself here."

"Quite the detective, you are."

"It's like you said, Gotham is a very different place than Japan. In Gotham, where I was at, the judges were bought out by Carmine Falcone. Even the judge that sent him to Arkham to be killed was bought out by Falcone and this unknown puppeteer." Batman crossed his arms, "Japan doesn't suffer from that problem, at least not nearly to the extent that Gotham City does. As long as stability is maintained there isn't an issue."

The mouse-man nodded, "Then we have an agreement that you will follow our laws?"

"For now." Batman narrowed his gaze at the principle, "However, if things get out of hand here, I will not hesitate to break that contract."

"Even though that would mean we would have no choice but to pursue you?"

"I've been doing that in Gotham for a month now. They would rather kill me on sight than arrest me." The gaze lowered even more, "If you think a fresh coat of paint and a few different heroes that are more celebrated is enough to deter me, you've got another thing coming."

With a sigh, the principle sat down his tea and smiled, "Well, you are quite stubborn. But I feel like that's as good as we're ever going to get." He stood up, which was actually shorter than what he was when he was sitting on the couch. He moved to the vigilante's side and outstretched his hand, which the boy took and shook. "It's an honor to have the infamous Batman joining our academy."

When the two were done exchanging their salutations, Bruce turned to the door, reaching for the handle. He didn't turn it yet. Instead he turned to the mirror that sat behind where Nezu originally sat.

"Next time you use that one-way mirror, Aizawa, try to make sure it's a little less obvious."

There was a chuckle from the principle as he turned to the mirror, which fazed to clear glass and revealed both Aizawa and the Pro Hero Endeavor who was scowling about as much as Bruce was.

"This really will be interesting with you here, Michael Lane."

With that, he left the room, leaving a bored looking Eraserhead and an equally annoyed Endeavor to their devices.

**Gotham City**

He was thrown onto a hard surface! It was a chair, definitely a chair. He couldn't tell because his head was covered by a potato sack that smelled like it was molding. He didn't understand what was going on, which only made his heartbeat faster than it already was. It felt like his entire body wanted to move but couldn't out of fear! His mouth was taped shut, so he couldn't cry out for help. He didn't even do anything!

Some men chuckled to themselves lightly before one of them shoved something blunt into his gut. Now the tears began to roll down his cheeks. He would have soiled himself if he could, but he was luckily empty before he was grabbed. Unfortunately, nothing could stop his trembling.

There was some small mumbling, which was hard to hear over the sound of fans spinning high above. It wasn't until the pain of the original strike to the gut subsided that the sound of loud metal scraping against concrete sounded throughout the whole room.

"Hey, what the hell is this?" A man with an Italian accent burst into the room, "Get the sack off him, we need him you idiots."

The sack was pulled off, revealing an older kid that had just turned eighteen with black hair and green eyes. Frantically, he looked around, counting about five men, all with guns of some kind and black and white suits and ties. The sixth man stood out as he wore a red suit and had a red tie and held no weapon. He had curly, dark brown hair and his quirk stood out when compared to the rest of them, as bright green acid dripped from his left hand. His right hand, luckily, extended instead, grabbing hold of the tape across he boy's mouth and ripping it right off.

"AHH! Ugh, what… Why am I here?" The boy sounded as he regained composure.

"Sorry about how rude my boys were, I try to treat my guests a lot better than this." He turned around, peering at his henchmen with a smile. "Which one of you grabbed him, huh?"

A larger man without hair on his head and with an extra set of hands raised both of his left arms, "Yeah, it was me, sir. Got him just like you asked!"

The man in the red suit raised his arms, showcasing the larger man with a chuckle, "Just like I asked, right? That's a good worker, doing what you're told, right?"

The others began to laugh with him, nodding and some even high fiving each other. Maroni turned to the boy, pointing a thumb in the man who voiced up, getting one last chuckle in. Then he raised his left arm up, rushing towards the large man! His hand pushed against the man's stomach and immediately the man screamed! Then he was punched in the face by the right hand before being sent to the ground and the bright green acid being poured over the body.

"At what fuckin' point did I tell you to treat him like a prisoner of war!? I told you to bring him to me for a BUSINESS PROPOSITION! This how we treat our partners, eh? Is it!?" The stood up, pointing at the two that high fived, "Drag him to the end of the dock, now. If he's still alive, just push him over. Let him drown or get eaten by sharks for all I care, don't waste a bullet on that idiot!

The two got to work, attempting to drag the steaming corpse away while the red-suited man approached the boy. He leaned back as much as he could, but to not much avail. The man was had a chair placed underneath him in front of the boy.

The kidnapped only barely managed to whisper a plea to the man. But he didn't hear it.

"_Mi scusi_, but when someone disrespects a guest like that, they have to be taught a lesson." He placed his non-acidic had on his chest, "Name's Sal Maroni, I'm sure you heard of me."

The boy nodded, "Y-yes, sir."

"What's your quirk, kid?"

"Um," the boy looked down, "I don't, uh, don't have one."

"Ah, ya see!" The Italian turned to the remaining men, "This kid must'a been scared shitless. All alone in a room full of people that could wipe the floor with him with their pinky fingers, and no one would know or care about him."

Him and his men began to laugh before he turned back to the kid, his smile still present. "Now, I have a bit of a problem, you see, and I think you can help me resolve it." The mob boss leaned back, brushing dust off of his shoes, "I will compensate you well for this, of course. I say about five grand should cover for ya if you get fired from your job for this."

"M-my job? What about my job?"

"You work at Ace Chemicals, right?"

The boy nodded, "Y-yeah, I started there just before I finished school. I've been there for half a year now."

"So, you'd say you know the place, right? All the chemicals and whatnot."

The boy nodded.

"So, if I told you we needed a gaseous agent to send into a nightclub, you would know what to get for me and how to combine it to get that end, right?" Before the teen could respond, the man waved his hand, "This is all hypothetical, siamo chiari?"

"W-well, hypothetically speaking, there are two lethal agents that when, uh, combined they-."

"Woah, spare the details. You know how to do it?"

The boy nodded.

"Glad to see the quirkless aren't also useless. Even if they're pretty damn close to it." The Italian nodded with a smile on his face before he checked his watch, "Where's a spot you usually go for a hangout."

"U-um, there's a comedy club about five blocks from-."

"Ah, I like that place! You go there to catch your favorite Gotham comedian?"

The boy laughed nervously, scratching his arm, "Um, well, I actually try to make my own material there. I'm an aspiring comedian."

"Hey," the mob boss kicked the boy in the shin, "if any joke is about as funny as your sorry life, you ought to be a riot!"

One of the henchmen chuckled as he nudged his buddy, "Yeah, why don't you tell us a joke then?"

The boss laughed with them, nodding and leaning back, "Yeah, give us something! Maybe I could get you on that stage when this is all said and done."

"Oh, really? Um, okay." The boy rubbed his shoulder, looking at all the men's face and mumbling excuses as they egged him on. Eventually he gave in, raising his hands in the air. "Okay, well, uh, take this, er… this situation for example." The boy beckoned to the group, "Here I am, being put into a tight spot by a bunch of Italians." There was a moment of pause he gave for the punchline. "It's almost as if you think I'm some s-sort of a PASTAtute!"

The boy began laughing to himself, looking around at their faces to catch their laughter. Only they weren't laughing. The boss even looked annoyed before he fixed his suit and leaned forward, "Hey, kid. You're lucky that I just reduce how much I'm givin' you for this job and that I don't relieve your neck of your head here an' now."

The boy took a deep gulp of dry saliva, lowering his head, "S-sorry, sir."

"You're doin' this just for a thousand dollars now, you worthless, quirkless, _stronzo._" The man stood up, the others following behind him, "If I ever see you around that comedy club after tomorrow, you're gonna get hurt. I don't want your stench rubbin' off on the decent jokesters."

As the last henchman began the pilgrimage out of the warehouse, he reeled a fist back and landed an uppercut right on the boy. It sent him flying away from the chair and across the floor. When he stopped, he was already holding his face and letting the tears roll through his eyes. Luckily, he rolled with the punch as he had learned how to do over the years of constant bullying and torment from peers so he was fine for the most part. He pushed himself off the ground, finding his notebook of jokes on the ground with a broken pen on top, black ink spilling all over the pages.


	8. Ace Chemicals

**Gotham City**

He sat at the usual spot at in the comedy club. It wasn't a great seat by any standard, in fact it was a booth off to the side of which the view of the stage was blocked unless he contorted in unnatural positions. But it was a brighter spot in the club, having multiple lights shining down on the table so he could see whatever it was he was writing. He wasn't actually in the right mindset to be trying to create jokes as he knew he would soon have to move on to another club. But old habits were hard to kill and finding inspiration for his own material was a strong habit.

His phone vibrated once, which he pulled out and flipped open. It was a text from one of the guys Maroni had bought out. There was a new text above the old one.

The first read, _"Wear a suit. Need you to look the part so we're not spooked."_

The man looked down at himself at the only suit he owned, which was a hand-me-down that was pretty typical of a normal striped suit with the exception of a bowtie and it being blue than black.

He sighed before turning back to the phone to read the new text. _"We're outside in the white van. Get in, quirkless loser."_

The man closed the phone, looking back at his notebook. The more he stared at the page, the angrier he became. All of the jokes, all of the work he put in and the ambitions; all of it thrown away because he just so happened to be at the bottom end of the hierarchy! He took the pen, squeezing it as hard as he could and pressed it against the paper. He scribbled and scribbled, until all over the material he had made over the years was covered by four words.

**"THIS IS A JOKE" **with a smiley-face on the end.

He slammed the book shut, taking the pen and paper and shoving it into his inside breast pocket before rising from the table and heading outside. Before he even pushed the glass doors open, he could see the van. It was parked immediately outside of the door, the side door of the van opening as the aspiring comedian stepped foot on the concrete. Without much other choice, he climbed inside.

The side door was slammed shut and he was promptly shoved onto a DIY seat made from one half of a couch which sat against the side of the van's wall. The other half of the couch was propped against the other wall. Two men sat on the couch ahead of the boy and another sat to the left of him, the same man who forced him on the seat. Then there was a driver, the only one the boy didn't recognize out of the criminals from yesterday. Most likely a replacement for the one that was thrown into the river.

Just thinking about it made the kid shiver.

One of the men in front of him handed the boy a weapon, a revolver. "Take it, kid. You're gonna need somethin' to protect yourself if this goes south on all of us."

"W-wait, 'if it goes south!' Why would it go south?"

"Eh," the Italian to the boy's left shrugged, "One of our guys on the inside of the force tipped us off about the police knowing a thing or two about this."

The teen's stomach dropped, "Wait, wait, then why would we keep going with it? I-I don't want to be arrested! A-and what about that monster?! The one in the papers! T-the Bat Man!"

The one in front of the boy nodded, "What, you actually believe that story? I'm certain that's just a story made up by the police."

"W-what do you mean?"

The driver finally spoke up. Funnily enough, he didn't have an Italian accent like the others. "The Bat rumors started going up a month or two ago, right? Keep in mind, it was also a few weeks before that when the wars between us families started reaching new heights. This new guy, Cobblepot, comes in and starts raising Hell, claiming territory." The driver took a hand off the wheel and waved his hand for emphasis, "It was all over the news when Falcone was taken out, and their whole family hasn't recovered since. After that, a rumor from GCPD informants across the families started going on about how the Bat moved on to Japan."

The criminal in front of the Ace Chemical's worker flashed a finger gun towards the driver, "Bingo, that's the thing." He turned to the boy, "All o' us think the Bat was made up by the police. They saw the Falcone family was a dyin' empire, crumblin' down at their own feet. So, they want to buy their way into some of our pockets."

"W-what about the police? If they're not bought off by us in that area, won't there be heat?" The boy raised the hand that wasn't holding the gun, "I-I don't want to be caught by the police! I haven't had a criminal record at any point in my life before this. I won't be able to get ay job anywhere anymore! I'll be homeless! I'll be-!"

The other man opposite to the panicking boy threw something red at his face. It smacked against his nose and fell onto his lap over the gun.

"That's why we got that, ya scaredy-cat!" His voice was hoarse as he yelled, "It's a character we've had for a while. The Red Hood as we like to call it!"

"I-I've never heard of him." The quirkless inquired as he rubbed his aching nose.

A criminal in the passenger seat turned back. "That's cause it's always at least a few months between the crimes he commits. They're always unconnected, too. Sometimes we throw in a random bank job, er, sometimes we rob a convenience store. Really throws off those detectives!"

The one to the boy's left chuckled, "Yeah, and they're never a member of the gang neither, so's you know they never come back t' us about it. The boss loves da character!"

The one in front pointed at the boy, "Yeah, so put it on now and forget about gettin' caught. We'll be coverin' your behind along the way."

The boy looked down at the helmet, which was clean and cylindrical with a rounded top. He turned the helmet to look at the inside, which had a red cloth on the inside. He pulled it out to reveal a cloak attached to the plastic around the back of it and two white gloves dropped onto his lap. With a sigh, he pulled the helmet over his head and pulled it down until he could see through the red from a red visor that could only be seen through from the inside. He looked down, putting the white gloves on his hands and taking a grip of the pistol.

"Y-you know, I-I've never even held a gun before now."

The man in front of the boy shook his head, reaching behind the couch and pulling a short shotgun in front of him, "Don't point it at us then, quirkless. Otherwise, we'll torture ya before dumping you on the side of the road."

The man beside the Red Hood raised his hand in front of the visor, morphing his fingers into chainsaws and grinding them together with a sinister chuckle, "Without any of ya skin!"

Sweat beaded down the caped boy's neck as the other criminals laughed.

_**James Gordon**_

The last thing he wanted was Bullock interrupting the dinner he had brought into work. It was leftovers of a damn good meatloaf from Mrs. Gordon, and he was not letting it go to waste! He hadn't even put the first bite in his mouth when his partner barged into the room. His office was scattered with papers and files, all chaotically organized into groups for individual crime families. The only area that was clear was the board behind him, which was once dedicated to the vigilante that gave their department so much trouble.

"Jim, we got a scene!"

"I'm on my break, Harv. I haven't eaten since lunch, eight hours ago." He tried resuming the bite.

"I get ya, but this is the break we've been waiting for with the Red Hood gang."

The fork instinctively moved away. "Since when have you been so apt to do actual work? Can't you see I'm actually trying to slack just a little bit?"

He raised the fork once more, "Trust me, I would love to take a piece of that, but we think they're hitting Ace!"

"Chemicals? Then have another team lead for once, they can handle it."

"Another call came in before that, they might have sighted _him_ again. He's headed that way!"

James moved the fork away, "If this is just like every other officer paranoid that the Bat Man is back in town, I don't want to hear it." Gordon tried to wave the conversation away by taking the bite.

Harvey rushed forward, taking the fork and placing it in the Tupperware container and slamming a folder on top of it. He opened it to a picture of three men strung up by a string and another halfway through a wooden fence of a broken-down house.

"That look like a rumor to you?"

"No, it doesn't." Jim groaned, rising from his chair and rushing with his partner out of the door. As they marched down the steps, he pointed at the man, "If I die on an empty stomach, I'm haunting you."

"So, I'll have to deal with you for the rest of my life?" They both made it out of the station and into the cruiser, Gordon at the wheel and Bullock beside him, "Why don't you just shoot me already?"

As they drove through the streets, James turned to Harvey with a frown, "So, why are they hitting Ace Chemicals?"

"Don't know, we got our information from one of the crooks in Maroni's mobsters in the picture you saw. He said the Red Hood was planning on hatching a bigger plan than anything he's done before."

"Which is?"

"He went out before he could tell 'em. The Bat actually tipped us off about Ace, he left a note at the scene. A jug of Ace bleach had one of his knife thingies in it placed right below the guys on the rope." Harvey scratched the back of his head, "What's the deal with this guy? I thought you said he went to Japan."

"He was planning on attending U.A., yes. The school hasn't started, yet, according to Shota."

Harvey slammed his fist against the dashboard, "Back up a damn minute, boy scout! Did you say he was going to school? As in, high school?"

"I think Eraserhead said he was going to be a sophomore according to our school system when he started over there."

"So, we were getting punked by a kid this whole time!" Harvey growled before punching the dashboard again, "If we see that brat tonight, he ain't gonna see the light of day!"

"Eraserhead told you that the night of the trial. Or weren't you listening?"

"When Aizawa said he was a boy, I thought he meant he was at least seventeen or eighteen! Not fresh into puberty!"

"You should have seen the fit Branden went into. He smashed his own desk with his wrecking ball quirk when he heard Batman was just fourteen." Jim smiled and nodded. "Still, that kid is gonna be something else when he does become a Pro Hero. He'll probably be able to do some real good in this city."

The partner turned to look out of his window, pulling out a cigarette. With a shrug he turned back to Gordon, "That is if he goes through with that there school. With how he fights, who knows if they'll want to keep him." He finally took out a match and scratched it once in order to set it ablaze. He pressed the flame against the end of the stick until it, too, was burning. "You forget, Japan ain't like Gotham. There's a reason Gotham isn't a hotspot for vacations; our criminals run the streets and people are gettin' offed by some of our guys."

"He still does good, though, Harvey. They'll see that." Jim sighed before scratching the back of his head, "They might not agree with how he does things, even I'm not sure where I stand with him, but even so he brought down someone we thought was untouchable in less than a fraction of the time I've been on the force. Something like that is something people can't ignore."

"No one even knows that was him, though, Gordon. They think it was us that did it!" Bullock crossed his arms with a chuckle, "I mean, the recognition is nice and all but if he's trying to do the hero gig, he's gonna have to step outta the shadows a little bit."

Gordon nodded. At this point there wasn't much more to say. Still, he had high hopes for the future. He even considered the idea of Batman becoming the top hero of Gotham, if his results were the only factor in that. The reasoning being that even when against the other heroes and the police force, the vigilante was able to do much more for Gotham than the official heroes.

The few top heroes of Gotham, Mr. Freeze and Clayface, among others, couldn't get close to taking down Falcone. Clayface didn't even show any interest in stopping the crime family, he simply stopped random crimes like bank robberies and purse snatchers. Mr. Freeze stopped crimes when he could, but he usually didn't move too far away from the Boyle Hero Association as he was never too quick and that building is the only place equipped with a lab that manufactured the special fluid that kept his suit cold enough for him to move about. So, he was restricted to a certain area around the north side of Gotham, where Falcone never operated. Luckily, that is where the new Penguin gang started cropping up, so less police forces had to be distributed over there.

So, as it stood, there were no heroes that made enough of an impact to truly turn the tides of crime in Gotham. Batman was something of their last hope.

"Hopefully Gotham can last until he's ready to join us again." Gordon remarked before focusing on the road.

_**Red Hood**_

The van finally stopped so the six of them could climb their ways onto the pavement. They were parked at the employee entrance, which was luckily vacant. The last thing the worker of the chemical plant wanted was for him to have to hurt any of the people he had worked with for so long.

The driver stepped out, pulling an AK-47 out from the side of the door. He pulled a black balaclava mask over his head and nodded towards the rest of the crew. The Red Hood turned back to the others, who all nodded back to his with the exception of the man who handed him the gun originally. He simply chambered the shotgun in his hand and turned to the others.

"Remember, no quirks fellas. Don't need them makin' us and takin' the boss in for our mistake. That'll be our ass." He turned to the Red Hood with a wicked grin, "Alright, boss man, you know the way! Get us some lethal chemicals."

The boy trembled as he pulled the revolver so it pointed to the air, "R-right! L-let's get the m-medicine."

The man groaned, grabbing the boy by the collar of the dress jacket, "Hey! What'd we say about your jokes the other day, quirkless?"

"S-s-sorry! I-it won't happen again. P-promise!"

The Red Hood was shoved back. In order to keep on his feet, he spun around and landed on the flat of his dress shoe. He regained his balance, standing back up on both of his feet. Then, he took a deep breath.

"Get goin', you joker, before we decide to leave you for the police once this is done!"

Without much of a choice, the boy in the red helmet marched forward and entered a hall which would eventually lead into the locker room. As the group moved through, he flipped on the lights from the switches they were connected to. He led them to the catwalks which hung above and between the vats of chemicals which practically glowed, giving the room a new green hue. The stench was something that the boy was used to by now, after a decent amount of time of working with the chemicals. That, and the other times when his co-workers…

As the group moved towards the control room of the vats, the sound of empty drums sounded from within!

"Oh, no." The boy rushed forward, bursting against the control room door and slamming into another man. They both fell, but the man only fell on his behind while the Red Hood fell on his face. He could feel the blood beginning to spill out of his nose, but he didn't pay it any mind. He couldn't let the man get away!

The other worker was out of the room by the time the boy had gotten to his feet. He, and now the Red Hood, scrambled out of the door which led onto a different set of catwalks. The boy instinctively pulled the pistol up, then pulled the trigger. The force of the shot kicked his gun wielding hand almost behind him, but the worker fell on his hands and one knee, his left knee bleeding.

The quirkless boy took a deep breath, turning back to the others, "D-don't worry guys. He… he won't be telling anyone."

"Wait, is that you?!" The worker yelled back, "You quirkless twerp! I'm gonna kill you!"

The boy turned back, swallowing his dry mouth. "No! You don't know me, not one b-bit!"

The worker turned onto his back, spitting as he spoke. He had short brown hair and a set of large tusks jutting out of his mouth. "I know you damn well, you nobody! I should'a dropped yer sorry ass into one o' these vats when I had a chance!" He smiled at him with a grin, "When you go to Blackgate, you're gonna die! You hear me? YOU'RE GONNA GET TORTURED IN THERE!"

The Red Hood gripped the helmet, shaking his head. "No, no, no, NO!"

One of the criminals smacked the boy's head and grabbed it. He shifted the helmet so it forced the Red Hood to look at the masked man. "Hey, Hood, calm down!"

"H-how could I? I'm gonna be tried for attempted murder! I-I can't-!"

The criminal punched Hood in the stomach, "Get ahold o' yourself!" He brought the kid back up, "You got a piece in your hand, man. Finish the job!"

Through coughs, the boy replied, "Y-you don't mean I'm gonna…"

The criminal leaned forward, "Dead men tell no tales."

Red Hood turned back to the man, who was shaking his head, "You ain't got the guts! You're just a loser who can't do nothin'!"

The quirkless kid marched forward. Each step felt heavy, and each step seemed like torture.

"You're quirkless, you mean nothin'! Why don't you save everyone the trouble of needing to look at ya and throw yourself in one of those vats?"

The Red Hood was standing over the man now, all of the words having settled in his mind. The manifestation of all the words and the anger that now rested on the back of his mind. The torment of the past, throughout his entire life, just because he was born without any power.

"You look pretty weak yourself right now."

The worker tried pulling himself back, "What are you-?"

The butt of the pistol slammed against the man's face! The back of his head hit the catwalk.

"All the years of torment!" The Red Hood swung down again, hitting his eye with the gun, then again on the man's mouth! "You held me over these vats, threatened to drop me in!" The boy threw another strike, slamming against one of the large teeth and cracking it. "From where I'm standing," Another swing was thrown at the same tusk, this time snapping it off from the root, "You look like the quirkless to me!"

The man whimpered, holding the now empty area the tusk was once placed. The tusk sat in front of his face, now apart from the owner. The quirkless boy reached down, taking hold of the tusk and grabbing hold of the now-bleeding man's face. His nose and his mouth were almost pouring blood and his right eye was now swelling. He flipped the tusk in hand, then brought it down, slowly, towards the man's forehead.

He was about to raise his arm, but one of the other criminals yelled out. The Red Hood looked up, noticing the others had their guns in the air. Only, there were only four of them from what the boy could count.

"You heard that too, right?"

The men didn't move.

One shouted out, "Where'd Tony go?"

The driver slammed his gun on the railing, "Hey, Red Hood, kill the guy already! We got heat!"

The quirkless teen nodded, turning to grab his gun from the ground. Only, he was met with the butt of the pistol himself.

"Goddammit!" The same criminal giving the order shouted, pointing his rifle at the man. Just as he pulled the trigger, however, he was knocked to the ground by what looked like a shadow!

"The Bat!" Another announced.

The quirkless boy used the confusion to rush the worker! He tackled the man, punching his old co-worker in the stomach as they fell to the ground. He could hear a struggle behind himself, but his focus couldn't leave his own struggle. He held the gun-holding arm to the ground and sent a punch to his face. It was blocked by an arm and was returned with a headbutt! The Red Hood fell on his back, but scrambled to get to his feet, despite his vision being blurred.

As he pushed himself off the ground, he felt something round under his left hand. The sound of a click sounded behind him! He turned around, shoving the item into the man's stomach. As it did so, the Red Hood discovered the man was stabbed by the husk, finally. The man had pulled the trigger on the pistol, but no bullet fired.

_Those goons, they only gave me one bullet. _He could feel his face heating up. His mind went blank! He pulled the tusk out and sent it back down into his chest, then he stabbed the throat, then the forehead! "All of you were setting me up from the start!"

The Red Hood turned around, meeting a new face. It was a dark figure, the face of the monster himself. The one that hunted criminals in the night. The Bat Man!

The boy lost his focus, he couldn't move. The creature rushed him, shoving him into the railing as something loud sounded in the room! Something snapped after the noise stopped. The ground disappeared. Then, his vision was nothing but green.

His skin burned like an intense fire! His eyes stung like ice being placed on flesh with salt underneath it! It filled his mouth and some managed to enter his throat. It felt like he was being tortured in what he could only describe as Hell for half a minute. Then the burning began to push and shove him down and deeper!

The bright green eventually turned dark as he was rushed down, slamming against pipe and metal, over and over with the acid. Eventually, he couldn't tell where he was being hit. The pain was simply everywhere. Then, he fell once more. He slammed against another piece of metal, this time being left behind by the acid. His skin still stung and his eyes were watering inside the burning helmet.

He had to get it off! He scrambled to pull off the helmet, clawing and scratching his mask. It pulled off, slamming against the ground which he sat on!

He tried to open his eyes, but his vision was still blurred. He hardly needed to see to feel the pain still present in his mouth. He dragged himself away from what he identified as a drain so he laid on the pavement. As his vision came back, he began to crawl over a puddle created by rain from earlier in the day.

It wasn't his face. It was something different. His skin was now pure white, his hair and eye pupils almost switched colors, as his hair was now a bright green and his eyes were the same shade of red as blood. His suit was bleached from the acid, making it purple rather than the black it was originally purchased as. The white dress shirt now yellow.

The pain in his mouth was also identified. Two shards of plastic from the helmet were broken off and jammed in his cheeks. Trembling, the boy took hold of the shards with either hand and slowly pulled them out. The skin was trying its best to keep the shards in, forcing him to tug on the bloody plastic with a bit of force in order to finally get them out. In the end, they left two marks beyond the corners of his mouth.

They seemed to almost extend his mouth, making a permanent tear that seemed to be in the shape of a smile. After all of the pain he'd been through, how much he had been set up that day, how his whole life everyone rejected him!

It was the final torment!

He wanted to smile.

He wanted to make others smile.

"Looks like they've put a smile on my face instead." He whispered softly.

He chuckled. "Heh."

He cackled, "Pfft!"

"Hee hee ha ha! Hehahahaheha!"

It was an epiphany!

"HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HAAAaaaa!"

He finally discovered his true calling; it was almost like fate. It was in his face the whole time and he simply suppressed it all! The feeling in the back of his skull that told him to let loose, to let himself do what he wanted! He was liberated, he was free from his chains! He finally saw the world for what it was, a world full of madmen trying to stop themselves from giving in to their basest desires!

"Thank you, Batman. You really are my hero!" He grinned back at his own reflection before standing back on his two feet. "Now, I get to be the villain!"

He finally embraced his own madness.

* * *

_**Review Response**_

_**suikofan: That was kind of the idea I had going in my head, but I think it would also work the other way around, too. Ya know?**_

_**PattycNyc: It's been shown even in the anime that normal guns and such are still threats to people like Endeavor and such. I think that the Joker has potential to be great as a villain in this story just because people like his are generally seen as in a disposition. Don't worry, I'll be sure to treat the Joker with about as much respect as he needs.**_


	9. The First Day of Superhero School

_**U.A. High School**_

_**Clark Kent**_

He took a deep breath next to both Diana and Izuku. The green-haired boy took a much shakier breath than the Kryptonian did, but they were both nervous. Diana, unlike the boys, seemed to be breathing normally and seemed as proud as she normally did. Throughout the entire time they were waiting for the acceptance letters from the school, the boys were too nervous to focus on much other than physical labor. Izuku continued to train and Clark would accidentally use his powers occasionally. The self-proclaimed Amazonian had none of the angst; or if she did it was well hidden.

When the letters came in, Diana even suggested that the three of them get together when we all opened our letters. So, Izuku invited both of them to his house where they were able to meet his mother. She was a very kind woman who almost did too much in an attempt to be hospitable.

The entire time, however, Izuku seemed to be out of it. They went into his room, which was covered in All Might posters and other collectables. It wasn't anything new to either of the guests, however, as they had seen plenty of All Might related merchandise during their time together. He still seemed a bit nervous about showing the room, though. He was more distracted by the letter, however, in a way that was unlike him.

He finally gave them the reason when they sat down on the bed, him on his desk chair.

"I'm sorry guys, I'm probably not going to be going to U.A. High School with you." He warned in monotone.

Clark raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean you won't be? You worked hard to be able to enroll like the rest of us."

The shorter boy sighed with a nod, "Yeah, but in the practical exam…" He swallowed a dry mouth before continuing, "I wasn't able to destroy any robot other than the arena trap."

"Oh." In other words, he didn't get any points.

He shook his head before turning to us with a smile on his face, "B-but you two are incredible! I'm sure you both got in s-so we should still celebrate that!"

Diana, however, was stuck on another point. She slammed her hand down on the boy's bed, "You destroyed the big robot?!"

Izuku jumped and began to lean back, "W-well, I guess so. B-but it doesn't really mean much according to the exam."

"But you still destroyed something that large!" She slapped Clark's back hard, "Even Kent-kun here didn't destroy it."

"W-wait, he didn't?"

Clark shook his head, "No, I moved it out of the arena and when it lost connection it shut down. But I never really destroyed it." He smiled and grasped the other boy's shoulder, "You were really holding out on us, Midoriya-kun!"

He began waving his hands, "N-no, not really! I-I mean, I really hurt myself when I destroyed it!" He sighed, looking down, "I didn't tell my mom, but when I used my quirk I broke both of my legs and my right arm." He raised his right hand, which was just as the friends remembered it. "I may have beaten it, but I didn't do much of anything else."

Clark nodded, crossing his arms, "Why did you target it, then?" The Kansas boy felt somewhat hypocritical asking that, considering he did the same thing knowing there were no points in it.

The other boy began to scratch the back of his head, "W-well, Uraraka-san was in the same arena as me and she was about to be crushed by it."

"So, you did it to rescue your comrade!" Diana crossed her arms and shook her head, "If that isn't something they consider heroic enough, then perhaps their values are simply warped."

Clark placed his fingers on his chin, considering the situation. "They're the best school in the world for heroics with a practical exam to determine who would be the best candidates to become the very heroes they'll be training. It wouldn't make sense for them to not consider that, even if they didn't overtly state it."

"W-what are you saying, Kent-kun?"

Clark smiled, nodding to Izuku, "I'm putting my own attendance at U.A. on the line; if you didn't make it into the school, then I will forfeit going to U.A. myself!"

Izuku was clearly about to retaliate but was interrupted by Diana taking a stand and placing her hands on her hips. "I agree! If they will not consider you being a hero after saving a life, they are not fit to lead thy example!" She turned to Clark, gesturing for him to shake hers. He took it and shook. She turned to Izuku with a grin on her face, "If you don't get in, we don't go."

Midoriya stood up, shaking his head, "Why would you do that? W-why would you go that far for me? Both of you."

"That's simple." Clark stood, placing both hands on Izuku's shoulders, "Friends stick together to fight for what's right."

The tears began to roll down the boy's cheeks. Another thing both Clark and Diana had gotten used to over the past few weeks. His ability to cry was something that seemed like a quirk in of itself! Once the waterworks halted, the three of them proceeded with the results.

Sure enough, when Izuku opened his letter the hero that was littered around his room, All Might, proved the Kryptonian right. Although he didn't get any points for destroying any robots, he did get sixty points for rescuing Uraraka, which was shown on a recording of the practical! He even revealed that Uraraka tried to give the boy a few points to help him out. It was enough to bring him to even more tears. In the end, he placed ninth place.

He turned to the other two, "Looks like we all made it in!"

"Steady now," Clark grinned, "We still need to look at our letters."

Diana opened hers before Clark, which instead opened to a Pro Hero Izuku redundantly announced as Midnight at the same time she announced who she was. There were three screens that showed off some of the combat Clark wasn't present to witness. At some point, however, they were shown the instance he joined her fight and they collaborated in destroying the five robots they took down simultaneously! Diana had seventy-five points in total, most of them being points from destroying the 'villains.' That brought her into third place and it was announced by the Pro Hero with something of a subtle potty-mouth that she was accepted to U.A. She closed her hand into a fist with a nod towards the boys. Izuku was in awe looking at the robots still and how she fought.

"It was almost as if you've trained to fight already; it's clear you weren't pulling your punches! How you use those bracelets to deflect the strikes and return one of your own is something you don't see too often, and never as consistent as you fight." He continued to mumble even faster when the scene of her and Clark came up, "Then-there's-how-you-both-fought-together! It-was-like-you-both-were-real-pro-heroes-with-combo-moves-and-everything!"

With a chuckle followed by a sigh, the Kryptonian decided it was time to see how he did. He had saved plenty of people and destroyed a lot of robots, but he honestly didn't keep track of them. And at no point did he save anyone from anything life threatening either. When he opened the letter and powered on the hologram, a man with the resemblance of a cowboy with a gas mask saluted Clark. Again, Izuku redundantly announced it was Pro Hero Snipe at the same time as the hero gave his name. It was funny to Clark how forced the western accent was, granted his time being around the very folk it came from. He had been told upfront that he had a few penalties for scattering glass on the ground at the beginning of the match and for moving out of the city with the arena trap, something that once it was shown put Izuku in awe again. However, that was hardly an issue as it was revealed that even after the penalties he had accumulated a hundred thirty-five points, with three quarters of the points being the 'villain' points and the other quarter being rescue points after the penalties. This put him in first place and ensured his place in the academy, as well as beating the record!

Upon hearing the last portion of the recording, the green-haired boy looked like he was about to have a panic attack. He couldn't help but stare at Clark with a finger pointed at him. "Y-you… You broke the record?"

The Kryptonian scratched the back of his head with a nervous laugh, "Yeah, I guess I might have gone overboard with the exam, huh?"

Izuku rushed over to Clark and grasped his shoulders, "Overboard?! This is incredible! Just how strong is your quirk?"

Diana leaned towards them, head cocked to the side, "What's gotten you so worked up, Midoriya-kun?"

The boy rushed over to his computer, making a mad dash over the keyboard with his fingers and pulling up the U.A. rankings. He pointed to a specific box for the exams.

"The last record was held by All Might with one hundred sixteen total points!" He pointed at the Kansas boy again, "You beat the Symbol of Peace's record, Kent-kun!"

Now they stood at the entrance, dressed in their grey suit jackets, red ties, and black pants, although for Diana it was a skirt and stockings. They took their steps forward, getting ready to find their class. Luckily all three of them were part of class 1-A, the top class of the school. It was while they were all going up the stairs and had finally made it to the class's respective floor that Clark had a call to nature.

"Hey, guys, go on ahead. I need to find the restroom." They nodded and went their separate ways.

It didn't take long for him to find the bathroom and to relieve himself. Not that it was surprising, but Clark was quite impressed by how clean the bathrooms were. Up until then, he was used to the restrooms in Smallville, which half of the time didn't even have soap to wash your hands. Because of that, he would usually carry his own travel-size bottle of hand soap to use in its place. Here, however, there wasn't a hint of wear in any of the ceiling panels, even if he focused with his enhanced vision.

It was while he was washing his hands that he heard a few voices through the walls. It was an argument. He knew it was bad to listen in, but in complete silence it was still hard to control his ears to cancel out other outside noise.

_"I thought we had an agreement for you coming here." _The voice was older and sounded tired.

_"I've followed that agreement so far." _This voice was younger but deep. He was less angry than the previous voice, but still obviously annoyed.

_"You got involved in the Ace Chemicals robbery and you broke the legs of a lieutenant under Penguin's regime. What part of that was following our agreement?" _Some paper slammed on a table, _"You weren't supposed to get involved in any heroics until you got your hero license!"_

_ "The agreement was while I was attending U.A. High School I wouldn't get involved in any crime fighting." _There was some shuffling. Clark began to make his way out of the bathroom at this point, moving in that direction towards the classroom. Now he could hear it through the open door, "Between when I took the exams and when I got my acceptance letter, I was not officially enrolled."

The boy finally stepped out of the room, turning in the same direction Clark was moving. He ended the conversation without looking back, "I have to get to class, Aizawa-sensei. Maybe you should do the same."

The blonde boy was someone Clark had seen before, though he couldn't put his finger on it. He tried not to look too much at the boy as he walked, but he was curious. He tried to open his mouth, but the boy turned back with a frown, staring directly at him.

"Clark Kent, you were eavesdropping."

The Kryptonian took a step back, the memory finally connecting, "Oh, the entrance exams! That's where I saw you from." He scratched the back of his head, "If you don't mind me asking, how did you know I was listening?"

"You were walking slower coming back from the bathroom than you were walking to it. You also took an excessive amount of time washing your hands." The boy placed his hands in his pockets, "Either you're just slow, or you were listening. We both know the former isn't true."

The Kansas boy raised his hands in defense and smiled, "You caught me red-handed. What was that about, anyways? You were fighting crime without a hero license?"

His eyes narrowed in on Clark, which honestly startled him, "A word of advice, Smallville." He turned away from the taller boy, "Forget what you heard."

"Are you threatening me?" It was less hostile and more inquisitive on Clark's end. He couldn't really tell if the blonde was being hostile.

"Let's just say," the boy looked over his shoulder with a scowl, "I'll teach you the downside of enhanced hearing."

The Kansas boy's eyes widened, and his hand crunched into a fist. It didn't seem right how quickly this other student was able to figure out one of his abilities. It wasn't as if Clark had said anything that would have overtly tipped anyone off! His old classmates in America never even suspected that ability in all the years he had been there.

The scowl on the other turned to a smirk, "An ability you just affirmed you have." He turned away and proceeded. "I have my eye on you."

The worst part about the boy was that he turned into a doorway that was marked above. Class 1-A.

"How did he know I was from Smallville?"

**Bruce Wayne**

The last thing the billionaire wanted to deal with was a rowdy student as soon as he stepped foot in the room. He let the figure grab him by the collar of his dress shirt. He wasn't able to pick him up too much, due to the assailant being shorter than he was, but Bruce was off of the ground. Bruce's prosthetically altered face was unchanged, leaving a scowl pointing at the other student.

His assailant was blonde with red eyes and a scowl that was less tamed than Bruce's was. He wore the uniform, albeit in a lousy way with the tie being missing altogether and the suit jacket not being buttoned all the way. His black slacks were also sagging a bit. Overall, Bruce's first impression of this boy read one word: thug. He knew the boy's name, however, from reviewing the data retrieved from the school's servers.

"Katsuki Bakugou," Michael Lane growled, "I'm going to tell you once to let me go."

"Who the hell are you, huh?! Did you get pass me on the practical?!"

Bruce grabbed the boy's right wrist, then pulled his legs up to take hold of his head. Then, he threw his weight down, pulling the boy with him. Using his left elbow as a pivot, he threw Bakugou against the wall on the other side of him!

The Gothamite was already on his feet, standing tall, "For your information, I wasn't part of the normal exams so I wouldn't have been on the scoreboards regardless." Bakugou was up again, hunched down with a growl as he stretched his hands out, "Next time you charge at me, I won't give you a warning."

The boy was about to charge, practically choreographing that he was about to use his explosion quirk but was stopped when Clark Kent entered the room.

"If you're wondering who placed first, I suppose that would be me." He raised his hands with a smile, "There's no need to get into any fights over it though."

The angry blonde's scowl shifted towards Clark as he took hold of the taller boy's collar, "Are you mocking me or something?!"

"W-what? I wasn't-."

At this point, Bruce didn't care what happened. The heat was off him so he continued to his seat as they argued, unnoticed by anyone in the group that was forming. Along the way, he surveyed the room and made mental notes of all the students in the class, remembering their quirks that were written on their records and how they used them during the practical exams. The only person he hadn't seen the extent of their quirk was Shoto Todoroki. It was only a matter of time until he would see it and learn how to overcome it, too. Though, he already had a few hypotheses about how he would go about it.

He sat in the back row in the column closest to the door. From there, he had a decent view of all the students in the classroom. Later on he would want a few other measures taken place for when he isn't in the classroom to know what was happening at all times. For now, however, he simply watched the argument at the front of the classroom take place. Bakugou was barking at Clark until a boy with green, curly hair stepped up to try to stop him.

That boy was something of an oddity. Bruce had searched through his records like everyone else's, both school and medical. His quirk was powerful, it allowed him to create a force that was powerful enough to launch him above skyscrapers and to take down the arena trap, which were nothing to scoff at. As amazing as it was, he saw the footage and he saw the effects it had on his body. On top of that, his medical record showed he was quirkless; never once was there a mention of his quirk before the date of the practical exam. Most people would stumble it down as a late bloom. Bruce was not most people.

Bruce Wayne knew something was wrong with the situation, something that Katsuki Bakugou knew as well, given his stark reaction to Izuku being in the classroom. As he yelled at the shorter boy, he mentioned something about hiding his quirk and showing Katsuki up. They both went to the same middle school, something Alfred had pointed out when reviewing their records. The same went for Mina Ashido, the girl with pink skin and hair and Eijirou Kirishima, a boy with natural black hair dyed red and gelled into spikes. It was obvious the former pair knew each other quite well, even if Bakugou didn't want to admit to knowing him.

Bruce pulled out his PDA, sending a task to the supercomputer at home to create a new file for Izuku Midoriya's Quirk Anomaly. With Katsuki's secondhand account of the situation and his experience with knowing the boy, Bruce knew now that an investigation was warranted.

Aizawa finally made his appearance, scaring a few of the students at the doorway including a new face to the classroom, Ochaco Uraraka. He was huddled in a yellow sleeping bag, much like he was when Bruce left him in the faculty lounge. He was on the ground and moved on the ground like a worm, which to the billionaire seemed like more effort than walking.

"If you're all here to make friends, then you should leave now. We're here to train to be heroes, not chit chat." He pulled his hand out of the sleeping bag and with it came a blue uniform that was vaguely designed to form a "U" and an "A" underneath it in white accents outlined in red. "We're doing physical evaluations in the courtyard, so get your gym uniforms on immediately and get there. If you're late, you get detention."

The students immediately began to work their ways towards the locker rooms. As Michael Lane marched with the rest of the students, he was approached by Kirishima and Denki Kaminari, a boy with yellow hair and a black streak which resembled lightning, a call to his quirk: Electricity.

The red-haired boy smiled, showing off his sharp teeth which seemed to be shaped like a shark's, "Hey, that move you did in the classroom was manly as hell man!" He pumped his arm in the air and flexed his bicep, "Where'd you learn to do it?"

"It's better you don't know."

Kaminari chuckled a little, nudging Bruce in the torso, "C'mon, you're making it sound like it was some sort of underground group, like ninjas!"

Bruce didn't respond or even acknowledge their trying to talk. They eventually got the message and began to stall behind him. He could hear Kaminari mumble in the background, "Sorr-y, you don't have to be such a grouch about it."

Bruce grunted in frustration but was otherwise unaffected.

They finally reached the locker rooms, where they found their names on the locker doors and began to strip to change into their other uniforms. There weren't any stalls to change in either. Something that Bruce had to sigh in contempt for.

"Hey." It was Clark. "I just wanted to apologize about earlier, I didn't mean to listen in on your conversation. It was wrong. Let's start off fresh."

"Don't apologize, just drop it." Bruce took off his dress shirt and began to raise his white t-shirt as Clark was unbuttoning off his own shirt.

"Right. My name is Clark Kent, I'm from Smallville, Kansas. Though, you already knew…" Clark replied as Bruce had gotten his own shirt off. "That. Michael, what happened to your back?"

Bruce turned around, showcasing the layers of scarring around his torso and upper arms. To him, it was something he was used to over the years of training. But for anyone else, especially at his age, it wasn't normal.

The disguised billionaire scowled up at the boy, "My name is Michael Lane, I'm from Gotham City." He finished changing. He turned to Kaminari and Kirishima, who stopped changing to take notice of the old lacerations Clark pointed out. "It's better you don't know."

He left the changing room.

**Diana Prince**

One of the blonde boys that fought earlier was standing with the teacher, as well as another girl with long, black hair much like Diana. The Amazonian waved at the boy, then the girl. The boy didn't respond, preferring to keep his hands in his pockets and wait for the others to arrive. The girl on the other hand gave a small wave and a gentle smile. So, the Themysciran sided with her instead.

They greeted each other with formalities that Diana hadn't seen returned to her since leaving her people's island.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Momo Yaoyorozu!" Momo bowed.

Diana returned her greeting with a bow all of her own, "And a pleasure to meet you, Yaoyorozu-san. My name is Diana Prince."

Momo nodded, "I've heard of you. You scored high on the practical exams, from what I heard. Congratulations!"

Diana nodded, flexing her bicep, "I was simply showing my courage in battle, as we all were!" The princess placed her hands on her hips, nodding towards Momo, "How did you do on your examination? You seem to be agile like Athena."

The girl shook her head, "Actually, I wasn't in the normal examinations. Much like Todoroki-kun and Lane-kun," she gestured toward the blonde, "I was in the recommendations."

"I never heard of that system; I've only heard that the most impressive students enroll with them."

Momo nodded, "In most cases, yes. If a student catches the eye of a Pro Hero, especially a well-established hero, they can recommend them to a school. The tests taken are generally more difficult, but most if not all students that take them get in."

"Even the written exams?" Diana asked, getting a nod from Momo. "How did you fare on those questions? The examination on our side of things were something of a task if one wasn't careful enough."

Yaoyorozu scratched the back of her head, "I apologize, but I cannot speak for everyone. I studied a long time for that exam and had plenty of resources to refer to in order to get as high of a score as I did."

"Are you saying you were the top examinee?"

"Unfortunately, no. I missed three or four questions due to my recklessness." She sighed, "Apparently, someone managed to get a perfect score. That hasn't been done in a very long time according to my parents."

By now, the students were piling out and into the courtyard. The girls were talking amongst themselves, but as the boys approached, they began to get more and more quiet. Izuku, Clark, and Ochaco eventually met up with Diana joining as one group. Diana asked them if something happened, but Clark shook his head.

"I'll explain later." He responded.

She left it at that.

The teacher began to give the instructions once everyone had gotten to attention, which took a bit longer than usual due to a boy with hair that looked like rubber balls. He was short, so he took longer to get to the courtyard even at a sprint.

"Today we're going to be doing an Apprehension Test."

There were a few quiet groans coming from other students, something Diana didn't quite understand. These groans didn't last too long when the teacher gave the students mean look. Once they stopped, he continued.

"However, U.A. Academy is the number one school. The only way to become the number one is to do something the others don't. That's why class 1-A will not be going to orientation and it's why this is going to be your official first Quirk Apprehension Test!"

The groans turned into smiles and excitement, and Diana was especially happy to be able to be able to compete with everyone at their fullest! This happiness leaked out of the students, as one girl with pink skin and pink hair sighed in relief.

"Ah, this is going to be so much fun!"

The teacher scowled at the student, "Fun, eh? If you're here to have fun, then you're sorely mistaken." The man sighed to himself, "This proves that the practical exam was irrational; it was nothing but a playground to all of you. Therefor," The man pulled a device out of his pocket, tapping it and pulling up a holographic projection with all of the student's names, "Whoever comes in last place in the Quirk Apprehension Tests accumulative score will be expelled!"

Glee turned to tension and nervous glances. Diana and Clark especially had to turn to Izuku, a boy whose quirk broke his bones beyond normal repair. It was clear that his heart sank into his stomach. Diana felt sympathy for him, but ultimately, she knew there wasn't much she could do but pray to the Gods that someone in their class would be able to mark lower than he. However, even this she didn't allow herself to do.

This was a test of strength, of everyone's abilities. If she prayed to the Gods to intervene now, she would be doing a disservice to Izuku, to the rest of the class, and she would be disrespecting the establishment. Worst of all, it would show that she didn't have faith in her friend and what he could do.

No, she knew Izuku was a smart boy, someone who could figure out something to give him the leg up! She trusted him with himself, it was the best thing a friend could do to just give him moral support.

**Izuku Midoriya**

_I'm doomed! I'm doomed! I'm so doomed!_

These were the only thoughts that were able to escape his mind. He only barely passed the entrance exams, and to him it still seemed like a fluke! I mean, the two people he decided to make friends with was a boy that seemed to be the next All Might without even being gifted the powers of One-for-All and a girl that claimed to be a Greek Amazonian warrior with the skills to prove it! Yet here he was, standing in between both of them as if they were equals. It was painstakingly clear that this was _not _the case!

"Midoriya-kun!" Diana called out. Izuku slowly turned towards her, unable to remove the worry from his face, "If your heart is true, follow it to victory!" She bolstered just before hitting her chest with a fist.

_Easy for you to say! _Was what he thought but he attempted the best smile he could manage before nodding, "R-r-right!"

The teacher turned his head to Clark Kent, pulling a baseball out of his pocket. "Record Breaker, you were first in the practical exams, so you'll set the average in the first test. Throw this as far as you can." He pointed to a baseball diamond, which was painted in a radius in a single direction with outlines of general distances to an extent.

Clark scratched the back of his head, "U-um, sir, I'm not so sure if I'm a good pick for average."

"HUH?!" An unfortunately familiar voice picked up. Kacchan marched toward Clark, getting in his face with a sneer, "You chickening out now, farm boy? Don't get so cocky just because you got first in the exams! Throw the damn ball so I can prove that I'm better than you!"

This was the first time Izuku had seen the American frown. He didn't turn away from Izuku's childhood friend.

"You know what, nevermind. I'll throw first after all."

The other blonde began to walk towards us as Clark took the ball and began to march towards the diamond. He didn't stop walking, but he turned towards us as he marched by, looking at each of us in the eyes. He almost looked annoyed at the situation.

"Might want to take a few steps back."

Everyone in groups was hesitant, but once the other girl with black hair began to follow his lead they followed suit. They finally stopped behind the groups of students, who all looked at us in confusion. We would be very happy that we followed his instructions.

The blonde yelled to Kacchan, "Bakugou, you stand back, too!"

The sagging blonde turned back with a sneer, "Eh? Don't tell me what to do, background character! Go die!"

"Background character?" The other blonde raised an eyebrow, before sighing and shaking his head.

The teacher started the device and cued for the American at the plate to begin. Then he began walking back. He kept walking, until he was about ten meters away from the plate. He crouched down, placing the ball behind his back and staring down the throwing zone with an intense focus. Izuku thought he was going crazy, he could have sworn he saw the ground below Clark's face begin to reflect a red light!

Then, he was off! It was so fast that Izuku didn't even have time to blink before he was already at home plate! There was a shockwave that struck the air and pushed against the students that stood closer to Clark at the start of his approach. The majority of them were shoved to the ground by the blast! The shockwave sounded like a cannon or a gun being fired, or at least what Izuku imagined was a gun being fired. Then, there was the debris.

The ground behind where the farm boy started had nearly exploded, sending fragments of dirt and dust behind him and creating a storm of dust in the eyes of all their peers. As the cloud dissipated, and the dirt landed on the ground, there was a clear parting of the dirt so large it almost looked like a meteor had crashed into the earth! At the end of it was Clark Kent, without a ball in his hand and floating two meters off the ground staring right at Kacchan.

"Set the average." He remarked.

The teacher was laying on the ground, scowling at the boy with glowing, red eyes and his hair defying gravity!

_Wait, that's where I knew him from. The Pro Hero, Erasurehead! His quirk, Erase, is the ability to disable other people's quirks as long as he sees their quirk and keeps his eyes open! _Izuku would have wished he had his notebook if it weren't for something else taking his attention. The fact that Clark wasn't falling to the ground. _B-but, how is that possible?_

It apparently startled the teacher, too. His hair fell back to the grasp of gravity, his mouth agape as he attempted to regain his bearings. Once he stood up, Clark was finally back on the ground. The Kansas boy turned to the teacher.

"How did I do?"

"How-?" The teacher snapped back to reality, looking down at the device. He turned the device over to the rest of the class, who didn't pay it any mind apart from Izuku's group. It was infinite.

Clark turned back, peering in the sky. "My bad. On the bright side, it didn't hit any satellites."

He turned to the teacher, who grasped him by the collar, "After the Quirk Apprehension Tests, we're talking." The farm boy nodded silently. The man sighed, turning to the destruction that laid behind the boy and began to scratch the top of his head. "Everyone head to the next testing area for now while I go call one of the construction heroes to help fix this."

Everyone nodded and headed to the next spot. Meanwhile, Izuku's ears and mind were still ringing. The ears ringing from the shockwave and the mind ringing from the overload of questions.

_I knew Clark was strong, but that… That was more powerful than what he did in the practical! Was that even his full strength? Why was Erasurehead unable to disable his quirk? It's clearly something that must be activated, there's no way a quirk that strong wouldn't be an activation! That shockwave, too, I've seen that before. He broke the sound barrier, going from a halt to supersonic speeds in less than a second! Is that a third quirk? But two quirks are rare enough, any more than that has never been heard of._

These were just the questions and comments that kept coming back to him. There were lots of other questions that began to plague his mind, but without a good way to answer the questions he was simply left wondering and mumbling.

The other students seemed to not be bothered so much with the questions, but rather just excited about the power behind the American. The red-haired boy with spikey hair was the first to jump up next to him, clearly hyped up on adrenaline. The other students eventually swarmed next to him as well, excluding the blonde in Izuku's group, Kacchan, the black-haired girl, and Ochaco. Diana was especially pumped, flying over Clark and practically gleaming in excitement.

The girls moved ahead of the two boys, eager to get to the fifty-meter dash. Izuku shook his head, turning to the blonde with a nervous smile, "G-guess we should get going, t-too, huh?"

The taller boy turned to him, "You saw it, too."

The green-haired boy paused before he nodded, relaying what he thought he saw, "Erasurehead used his quirk on him." He turned back to Clark, who was laughing with other students and waving them away from giving him the attention, "But it didn't work. How is that possible?"

"Izuku Midoriya, wasn't it?"

The shorter boy nodded.

"You can't exactly act too surprised at something like that."

Midoriya raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?" The blonde just stared down at Midoriya without saying a word. Then it clicked. His throat frogged up. _There's no way it is what I think it is! He isn't talking about me being quirkless, right?_

Izuku stepped back, doing his best to frown back at the other American, "W-w-what's your name?"

"Michael Lane." Lane turned away from Izuku with a smirk, marching forward, "You should work on your poker face."

Out of everything that's happened, there was one thing that was conclusive for Izuku. Michael Lane terrifying!

The rest of the tests went on and one thing remained consistent. Clark and Diana remained at the top of the board.

During the fifty-meter dash, Clark was across the finish line in what was marked as less than half a second with Diana close behind at a little over one second. A boy in glasses with short blue hair, who earlier in class greeted me as Tenya Iida 3.04 seconds with Kacchan not far behind with 4.13 seconds to the finish line. Izuku was only able to manage 7.02 seconds, only slightly faster than Uraraka even after he had worked so hard training with All Might! In hindsight, it was a grim foreshadowing of the future of the tests.

They continued to the grip strength test, where both Clark and Diana legitimately broke their machines! The standing long jump was useless since they could both fly. The repeated side steps became a cloud of dust when they went to their respective stations. When the dust settled, the amount of side steps counted were in the hundreds, with Clark leading by a little over fifty over Diana. Meanwhile, Izuku couldn't manage anything meeting mediocre!

Repeatedly, both Diana and Clark proved themselves to be in different playing fields than the other students. No one could manage to get close to them on the scoreboard! Between the two of them, Clark was ahead of Diana on a the majority of the tests which ultimately placed him at first place by the time all of the students made their way back to the ball throw, which was now back to its former glory. Everyone began to take their turns, giving Izuku time to think. The only thing it did, however, was give him enough time to realize how much trouble he was in!

He realized this was the last test he could get a good score on in order to pass. If he couldn't get a score that placed him above last place, which would have to be a throw that was able to outpace Mineta's sidesteps, which were out of place for him if you compared him to the other tests, it was over! The dream of becoming a hero would be crushed, and all the hard work he put in, the faith his friends had in him, it would be for nothing. His chest began to tighten as he looked down at his arm, considering the option of using his quirk, to break his arm in order to get one good score. There was one thing that kept racing through his mind, something that gave him the confidence he had, as little the amount it was.

_Will it be enough?_

He was snapped out of his trance by a hand on his shoulder. He jolted his head up, finding the culprit to be Michael Lane. He shook his head.

"If you think Aizawa is going to let you do that, you're mistaken."

Izuku stepped back, fidgeting, "W-what are y-y-you talking about, Lane-kun? I-I'm perfectly f-fine."

"Scratch what I said about working on your poker face. That's a lost cause." He crossed his arms, coldly staring at the shorter boy. "When you activated it in the practical exam, your muscles and veins tensed unnaturally before you used it. Take deep breathes and concentrate on where it's going to affect you before you throw."

"H-how would you know a-about that? Even if you were in t-the same arena, you-."

Michael looked away, walking ahead, "By my count, you're after me. Focus."

He took the baseball from the teacher but stopped just short of the plate. He placed the ball behind his back, moving into a pose which resembled a professional baseball player. Rather than throwing like one, however, he jumped forward, spinning in the air and gaining momentum before finally landing on one foot and pulling his arm forward. The ball was released, flying forward in a spiraling motion in the air! It took a little over 11 seconds before it landed on the ground, granting him 545.6 meters as his final score.

The blonde let out an almost inaudible "Tsk." As if the throw was less than he had anticipated! Even in a world of quirks, a throw like that would be considered impressive as not many people have strength quirks. Then again, he didn't know if Lane had that quirk either. It was clear in the locker room from his muscles and his scars that he had some form of training; whatever it was, it was too much for someone his age to have dealt with in Midoriya's opinion.

He didn't have time to think about any of that now as it was his turn to throw the ball. He marched forward, legs shaking in anticipation to find out if he would or would not make it into the school for the long term. He grasped the ball, holding it tightly with his right hand and closing his eyes as he stepped onto the diamond. He inhaled through his nose, then exhaled through his mouth.

_Feel the tensing of the muscles before I throw. That's what Lane-kun suggested. _Another deep breath in resulted in another deep breath out. He searched his muscles for the tensing. It started in his chest, moving down like a slow jolt of electricity. It took a lot of effort not to accidentally lose the tension it when it flowed from his bicep to his forearm. But, eventually, he let the dormant power find its way to the right place.

_There! _Izuku maintained the tension. He reeled the ball back slowly, taking one more deep breath. He began to combine his peer's advice with that of his mentor's.

'_Squeeze your butt cheeks, and yell SMASH from the heart!'_

His butt tensed, he gritted his teeth, and he pushed forward bursting his eyelids open! "SMAAAAAASH!" Air circulated around the index finger and with a sudden burst of pain, the force from his quirk, passed down from his idol, All Might, One-for-All, shot the ball into the air and carried a whirlwind of dust and air with it! The ball soared, taking its time settling on the ground at a distance of 705.3 meters.

Izuku couldn't help but grin from ear to ear, turning back to the blonde who gave him the advice. Lane nodded to him, not giving in to a smile. Then he turned to the teacher, who crossed his arms.

"You've learned how to use your quirk and not become useless after one strike?"

Izuku reluctantly nodded, pulling the hand with the broken finger into a fist, "After all, if I'm going to become a hero, I have to be ready to improve myself!"

The teacher nodded with a grin before turning to the scoreboard, "That is a naïve mentality to have. One that I can't help agree with, either."

Looking at the scoreboard of the ball toss, he could see that he scored pretty high compared to the others. Uraraka had managed an infinite alongside Clark, something Izuku hadn't witnessed due to his own worries. He even managed to score higher than-.

"DEKU!" Kacchan. The green-haired boy turned to see the blonde he was more familiar with a step away from frothing at the mouth. His hands began to flicker and pop with the nitroglycerin activated explosions. "What the hell are you trying to pull, huh?!"

He was stopped by the Lane, who grabbed him by the shoulder. Kacchan turned back, ready to launch a strike at the other, but no explosion came through. The other blonde didn't even look at the hand, but simply stared down the assailant. Kacchan growled, turning back to the teacher with a scowl before turning back to the boy.

"I don't care that you came from that slum of a city, Gotham. Stay out of my business!" He pressed his knuckles against the palms of his hands, popping the joints, "And remember that we have unfinished business from earlier."

Lane stood still as stone, unfazed by the invasion of his personal space. "You and I can hash that out in the Sports Festival if you want. For now, you'd better behave yourself."

"Or what? Are you going to do something about it, huh? Just who do you think you are!"

Aizawa began marching towards the boys, ready to break it up.

"Trust me, you don't want to know."

"Cut the shit! Don't act like just because you came from the worst city in the world that you're so stronger than me!" Now Clark was even stepping forward, but neither aggressors seemed to notice the two entities, "What, did your mommy and daddy not-?!"

Michael grabbed Kacchan by the throat, kicking the back of his knees and slamming him against the ground and clearly winding him. By now, Clark and Aizawa had rushed in with the farm boy peeling the Gothamite away and Aizawa dragging the downed blonde away.

"Get off me!" Michael yelled, yanking himself away from the other American.

"Not until you calm down." The taller boy responded.

It took a minute before both blondes stopped struggling, but they both eventually gave in. They were both released at the same time, but neither charged the other. They simply glared at each other. Michael began marching towards the next apprehension test, the teacher following suit. After a few awkward secondsthe rest of the class did the same.

In the end, the teacher revealed that the expelling was simply a motivator for us to do out best during the tests. It was a relief on Izuku's part, but the full feeling of satisfaction it should have brought him didn't come. The tension from the fight was heavy and Izuku still didn't know what it was that set the American off. Kacchan had said some nasty things to Michael about his home city, then brought his parents into it. Even without that, he was basically asking for a fight with how he kept pushing him.

The rest of the day was about as mediocre as any other high school would be on the first day, however. Izuku only hoped that once the tension had settled and they all began their training, things would only get better from there on out.

**Gotham City**

**Abandoned Bar**

The puff from the cigarette filled the air. The mouth it came from was more like a beak, coming from a shorter man whose entire body seemed to be replaced by a rockhopper penguin. He had a black leather jacket with fur on the collar over a white dress shirt and tailored pants that fit him perfectly.

Across from him was another man, one with a face which seemed to have no skin and no muscles. With a black skull being the only identification for the man, it made the sclera of his eye stand out in the darkness next to his blue irises. After that, he was simply a normal man with a white suit and black dress shirt. He sat with his hands crossed on the table, exuding a serenity that contrasted the smoking man's confidence.

"You've gone to callin' yerself the, what was it, Black Matt?" The short man spouted in a British accent which was tainted by the years of smoking already and the mutation of his larynx due to his quirk. His laugh resembled that of a rockhopper even more.

"Black Mask, actually, Mr. Cobblepot." The man glared down Cobblepot, "But I prefer business partners like ourselves refer to each other professionally, if that's alright with you. Between us bosses, I'm Roman Sionis."

"Fair enough, Sionis. But if _you_ don't mind, only my friends and subordinates call me Cobblepot." He began to cackle, "Then again, what's the bloody difference? I seem to've forgotten myself!" He began laughing again. "You can call me Penguin. What was the deal you was offerin' to make anyways, Sionis?"

"Deal I was offering? Nah," Black Mask pulled out an envelope, tossing it over to Penguin. "This told me I was getting an offer, not you."

Penguin looked over the note, then slammed it down. "That's the same codding note I got!" He pulled up an umbrella, pointing it at Sionis, who was already out of his seat with a desert eagle pointed directly at Cobblepot.

There was an awkward silence before a door swung open. Both gang bosses turned toward the door, showing a man in a red suit and tanned skin. His left hand was already dripping a glowing green acid. He began to chuckle as he waved his hand through the smoke with his free hand.

"Looks like you guys didn't listen about the 'no weapons' rule in the letter." He flicked his fingers towards the gang bosses, where small drops of acid landed on the table between them. It began to steam until the wood eventually caved in on itself. "Good thing I don't need a weapon, _non pensi_?"

Black Mask growled, "What are you talking about, ya breadstick? You didn't send the letters to make a deal?"

Maroni stepped forward, chuckling to himself before shaking his head and waving his hands forward, "Now why would I do that when you've been going around killing my men?"

Penguin began laughing loudly, "Your boys getting' killed? Ain't surprised, you ain't a popular bloke in this town!" The umbrella opened, making the Cobblepot's black, beady eyes the only thing visible below his flat head. "B'sides, your men ain't the only ones gettin' thrown in Gotham Bay. I found two'a yer men in my territory, dead, along with a dozen o' mine."

Black Mask dropped his gun, "You idiots! Same thing happened to me. Don't look like we gave any of the orders though. That only means one thing!"

"Oh, bloody hell."

"That's right, gentlemen!" The three of them turned to the bar, where a man stood turned away from them, a red blanket covering his head. After that, it was simply a white dress shirt and black slacks. Lastly, his hands were covered by black leather gloves "You all fell for my trap, and now I feel obligated to offer you all a drink for your long pilgrimage to this ditch!"

The man turned, slamming three drinks down on the counter one at a time, enough force to crack the bottom of the last one. He leaned back and waved his arms to showcase the drinks.

Black Mask was the first to speak up, "Who the hell are you?"

"An interesting question, from such an interesting fellow! Mr. Mask, was it?" He began to giggle before clearing his throat, "You see, I've met one of you already as it would happen! Now it's up to you all to figure out who it is that knows me."

Penguin pointed the umbrella at the man, "Oi, you realize you're outnumbered here, right? Three to one!"

The man hummed before two men burst in from the entrance Maroni took. Another man jumped up from under the bar counter. Two men broke down the door to the left side of the bar which led to the restrooms. Another strolled out of a dark corner.

All four of the groups had different outfits. Men in suits came from where Maroni entered from. Men donning penguin insignias ran from the bathrooms. The man from the corner was wearing black clothes. The man from the bar counter was wearing a purple tracksuit with a paper plate colored red and holes cut out to see. All of them had assault rifles in hand pointed at their respective bosses, the one with the plate mask being the only one pointing at the three of them.

"Oh dear, how the tables have turned!" The organizer laughed, "Well, come get your drinks already. I insist!"

Reluctantly, the bosses put their weapons down and took seats at the bar. Penguin on the leftmost side of the bartender, Black Mask in the middle, then Maroni. Before they could move for their drinks, the bartender swapped the drinks of Black Mask and Maroni.

Sionis jerked up, "What the hell is that for?"

"There's an order to these things, you know." The man pulled out a revolver, pointing it at the middle man, "Trust me, you don't want what he's having." He looked over to Penguin's cup, "Or was it that one?"

"Wait a minute, what was that? There's an order to this but you don't know it your damn self?" The short bird man recoiled.

With a shrug, the man stood back, "I'm not too particular. In fact…" He brought out a new cup, placing it in front of himself, "It might even be this one!"

Maroni scrunched his eyebrows, "You mean you didn't pour them yourself?"

He shook his head, pointing to the man with the plate mask, "He did. Never told me which one had the secret ingredient!"

"What's the secret ingredient?" Sionis asked.

This only got a finger waved in his face, "It's a secret! Shhh…" The shush turned into another cackle.

All four of them took ahold of the shot glasses, the bartender moving it under the blanket to drink it.

"This is a nutter if I ever seen it." Penguin remarked.

The glasses were thrown back and the drinks dove down their throats. Straight whiskey. Nothing seemed off by the bosses. Penguin began to laugh.

"Nothing happened t'us! Looks like you might'a gotten the secret ingredient, you lunatic!" He clapped his hands.

The man put a finger in the air, "It takes a minute. So, let's just relax and chat for a bit."

"Like Hell, I got business to take care of." Black Mask began, pointing a finger at the bartender, "Starting with getting my dogs to chew off ya ballsa-!"

The bartender brought out a knife, slamming it against the counter at Maroni! The bosses noticed it immediately, he was sweating profusely and gagging. The tanned skin was pale, like he'd been sick.

"Looks like we have a winner!" The bartender looked at the others with blood-red eyes. "The audience may want to stay for this part of the speech."

The two looked around at the men, who all gestured toward Maroni with he guns. With no other choice, the two complied.

"Now, Maroni, about two weeks ago, what was your big scheme for Penguin's new, luxurious Iceberg Lounge?" The blanketed man took hold of the man's face, squeezing his cheeks together and pulling him so he faced Cobblepot. "Don't leave out any of the details."

He tried to resist, but it just made him sicker. He had to turn away from the counter, vomiting over the table they were previously sitting at. He was grabbed by the man on the other side of the counter, pulled back so the back of his head crashed and broke the shot glass on the counter.

"NOW! These gentlemen have things to do, after all." He got closer to the red suited man, giggling as he elaborated, "Next time you resist, you might just choke to death. Can't have that ruining the reputation of this fine establishment!"

Maroni grunted, but no longer had the stamina to resist. He went limp, staring straight at the assailant. "I… I was planning on gassing your clubhouse. B-but, I needed the chemicals, so I kidnapped… It was you!"

The bartender picked up the head and slammed it against the counter again, this time getting a scream out of Maroni. "Leave your revelations to the end of the story, boss!" More giggles came from the bartender as he closed in on his face, "_How_ did you do it? I'm sure they're dying to know." The former Red Hood gestured to the other bosses; whose arms were crossed towards Maroni.

He grunted in pain, "It… A con we pull some… sometimes. Red Hood. Steals things we need… Seems random, throws cops off the trail. We grab a worker that knows his way around, make him the Hood… Thought the Bat killed your humorless-!"

The knife came down this time, taking off Maroni's ear! Blood began accumulating on the counter, pooling around the head and eventually spilling on the floor. "I said, revelations are at the END!"

"Was… planning on using the chemicals… Sionis Steel Mill… Two in one go."

The bartender let the Italian go, pushing him off the stool and sending him to the floor.

"Let's give a big round of applause to Macaroni, here! He was such a good sport with the truth serum I doused on his cup!" The bartender began laughing loudly now, pulling the blanket off his head and tossing it to where the Italian's stool was. His green hair, white skin, and now red lips painted in such a way the lipstick extended past his lips and painted the scarring on his cheeks. A permanent smile.

Penguin laughed with him, "I ain't never seen a serum do a thing like that! Where'd you get it from… Red Hood, was it?"

"Oh, please, that was my father's name!" The green haired man jumped on the counter, so he was sitting on top of it before he giggled, "My boys here call me, the Joker."

"Well, Joker," Black Mask began, "Before we begin discussing the deal you mentioned, we gotta confirm one thing. You killed our men, right?"

"Y-your men! Hahahaha! That's funny."

"What's so funny, freak?"

"Well, from what I understood, those men you claimed as 'yours' were running their mouths off to ol' Maroni here!" Before Penguin could laugh at Sionis, the clown turned to him, "Same goes for yours, Cobblepot."

"Eh?" The Penguin jolted back, then pointed at Maroni, "What about his blokes, then? Don't tell me you was killin' our men!"

"Heavens, no! I'm not an animal!" Joker slid over the countertop, so he was now on the boss' side. He shuffled over to a Maroni struggling to pull himself toward the exit. He grabbed the acidic hand, which was still dripping. He placed the hand on the opposite shoulder, burning his way past the suit and shirt mumbling something before responding to the others, "They were talking to the good cops. You know, the ones that would rather crash out parties uninvited and make a ruckus of the place!"

Black Mask cocked an eyebrow to the clown, "So, what do you want for us? If what you say is true, I can't imaging you did all that for nothing."

The Joker nodded, grinning back at them, "At first, it was a simple revenge thing. But, I realized there was a greater goal I had to seize and I will need some help from some good friends of mine. Although, I'm not exactly sure what I want yet. After all…" He let go of the arm, taking hold of the other and pulling on it while pushing off Maroni's body. He seethed in pain, no longer able to manage a full scream. The arm snapped, then when it was twisted the tendons began snapping. Tears were rolling down the mob boss' cheeks. The arm finally tore off which Joker slung over his shoulder, ignoring the blood dripping on the white shirt, "…I still don't know where the Batman ran off to."


	10. The Costume Makes the Hero

**The Penguin**

Business was booming! The rich and powerful were all in the one room, dining together, laughing together, and all of them coming to the now biggest, most popular VIP Club in Gotham City. At the top of the room, in the center of it all, was Oswald Cobblepot! Beside him was a similarly powerful boy from the neighboring city, Metropolis. Lex Luthor chose one of the best nights to come to see Penguin, if the crime boss were to comment on it.

They were both sat in a booth on a balcony overseeing the rest of the club. In the center of the room was a large hill of ice which all the tables and other various activities around the room surrounded. Below the iceberg was an array of blue lights, which gave the entire room a blue glow. Along the walls were paintings, sculptures, and aquariums filled with sea life and even more sculptures. It's no wonder the club elevated to the best nightclub in Gotham in the short time that it did. It also helped that the food and wine were very hard to come by if one didn't have a side job that gave them access to these things in less than legal ways.

"It's good to see you again, Luthor! What's a busy boy like yourself doing in Gotham, though?" The short, bird-man beckoned to a waiter, who was already rushing over with a cigarette placed in an extender. "Not that I don't enjoy your company, but this isn't exactly what I'd call your scene."

The bald boy smiled before cocking his head to the side, "What are you talking about, Mr. Cobblepot? I had to visit the Iceberg Lounge at least once near its making."

"It's not as if you're getting the full experience either way. You can't get a taste of the drinks!" The man began to cackle.

Lex leaned back, crossing his hands over one another on the table, "The irony in that isn't lost on me. As if someone like you would let a small law like that ruin your hospitality to a guest."

The Penguin laughed before he waved the waiter over again with the wine and two glasses promptly following, "You bein' a right ol' toff in the public eye, I'd have thought you'd want to be a bit more cautious about bein' seen with a drink."

"And I thought you would have given a bit of a bigger fight over this considering this is your new club and all." The drinks were finally filled and the waiter placed the wine on the table for the two to fill as they saw fit.

The short man shrugged, leaning back with his glass of wine in hand, "Please, Luthor, if a tad bit of heat was 'nuff to bring my club down I think I have a few other problems needin' sorted out." He took a sip of his wine before turning back to the boy, "So, what brings you here anyways? Goin' over to that Wayne brat's place again?"

Lex took his wine to take a taste of it before turning back to the crime boss, "Although Wayne has potential to be an excellent resource, I'm not here to have a conversation with him. That being said, I am sending him a gift from one of my excavation teams. I do hope to soften him up to the idea of partnering with my company."

"You think that's a good idea, Lex? It's not as if Wayne has shown any interest in any of the questionable activities you an' I engage in."

The boy shook his head, "No, I don't plan on bringing him in on our nightlife. The technology and money Wayne Industries would add to LexCorp would leave every other company in our shadows. That's all." The boy smiled and gestured toward the man, "I was wondering if you had thought about my favor, is all."

The fat penguin smiled, taking in a large breath of smoke before releasing it into the air. "Actually, I think I have the perfect person for you! He's lookin' for someone, and my informants in the GCPD 'ave told me that the person in question is in the same place as your partner."

"You're sure he's good for the job?"

"Good for it? He's perfect for it!" Oswald pointed his cigarette at the bald boy, "Let me tell you, he took down the whole Maroni gang without me nor Black Mask finding out about it. Then he killed Maroni himself."

"How did you find out about him?"

"I didn't." Oswald took another sip of wine before continuing, "He called me, Sionis and Maroni into a meeting before he wasted him in front of our eyes! Let's just say that I owe him one after what we discovered about the Italian chap."

Lex took a larger drink of the wine, smiling back at the Penguin, "He's built quite the resumé already. But, what we're looking for is someone reputable."

"Listen, Luthor, this guy's a riot. You give him a little bit and I guarantee he'll send Japan to shambles!"

**Clark Kent**

**One Week Later**

For being a Hero Academy, classes were normal for the most part. Sure, the material was moving a bit fast for what Clark was used to, but he wasn't having any issues with it. The only other thing that seemed off from normal schools were extra classes relating to Pro Hero work. This class was outlined to cover the essentials ranging from laws regarding Pro Hero work and would eventually lead into how Pro Heroes operated within the law and within their respective agencies.

Within that time, Clark was able to become decent acquaintances with most of his classmates. Katsuki, Shoto, and Michael were still standoffish, although Katsuki began to move into a group with Eijirou, Denki and small few others. Shoto was just generally quiet and indifferent to others. When people would try talking to him, he would usually lose interest and people would move on from the conversation. Either that, or any amount of sarcasm or humor would be lost on him and the conversation would awkwardly die down.

Michael, however, has been easily annoyed by conversations since the Quirk Apprehension Test. A few students did try to get close to him still. Denki tried to invite him to eat with their group for lunch, but because of Katsuki he refused almost instantly. Diana tried to engage with him a couple times, to which he gave straightforward responses. She didn't seem too affected by it, so she was bound to try again.

Clark felt like he would have eventually become friends with Fumikage Tokoyami, a boy with a quirk that turned his head into that of a bird with black feathers. However, neither of them tried to engage with each other, despite how similar their demeanors were. Both of the brooding classmates kept to themselves in very similar ways.

When Tenya would point out something they were doing wrong, in most cases both would simply ignore him. When they were asked questions, sometimes they wouldn't answer. Tokoyami was direct when Clark asked for him to join the group for lunch.

The bird boy raised a hand, "I appreciate the offer, but I prefer to eat alone." From the shoulder of the boy, an entity made of darkness emerged and scowled at the Kryptonian. "When Dark Shadow gets hungry, he can get restless."

The American replied by ensuring the invitation would be open to him if he wanted to join in the future, understanding that Tokoyami at least had a good reason for being standoffish towards classmates. It seemed like Dark Shadow was a separate entity from Tokoyami which was a very rare thing to find in Clark's experience.

When Clark was trying to catch up to Michael, however, to ask him to join his group for lunch, he had turned his head to beckon to his other friends. When he turned back, Lane had vanished from his sight. The fact Clark couldn't figure out how he disappeared and arrived in the lunchroom before the Kryptonian was something he found astonishing! This only happened once; every other time he went to ask the boy something during breaks he was out of the class before Clark could even get up.

Midoriya and Uraraka even tried to deter Clark from trying to push him.

The green-haired boy was eating one of the meals in the cafeteria, trying to speak up in his timid way. "Maybe you shouldn't keep pushing Lane, Kent. I-I mean, I think it's pretty clear that he doesn't want to be b-bothered."

"I don't want to do that, Midoriya." The American took a bite of his chicken and rice bowl before continuing, "Unlike Todoroki and Tokoyami, Lane isn't choosing to be outcasted. Ever since what happened in the lockers and during the Quirk Apprehension Test, most of the class has been avoiding a confrontation with him."

Uraraka looked down at her food with a nervous look on her face. "I don't want to judge him or anything, I'm sure he's nothing like them since he was a part of our hero program but knowing he's from Gotham City is kind of scary to think about."

Tenya sighed to take a break from his food, "Unfortunately, I thought something similar. Gotham City is infamous for harboring delinquents." Tenya looked back at Clark, "No matter what Bakugou said to him, fighting is not something that can be overlooked two times. In my opinion, he's following the same path of those very criminals we are meant to oppose."

"Tenya," Clark's arms slumped, "that's kind of a harsh assumption to make of a person before getting to know them!"

"You're right, of course. It was clear his childhood was unorthodox and harsh." The blue-haired boy lowered his head, "We should show leniency and support for him in pursuing a better future for himself and in his desire to help others." He raised his head with a smile, "Like we all aim to do."

Clark smiled before raising his hands, "He should still be held to the same standards, of course. I'm just saying that it would be better for him to have some friends. If we were to forget this was a hero academy and was just a normal high school, going every day without any friends to rely on just isn't healthy."

Uraraka nodded, "It's not as if he's a bad guy, either. He seemed pretty friendly when he was talking with Midoriya before his turn at the ball throw the first day!"

The green-haired boy perked up with a smile, "T-that's right! He gave me some really good advice which helped me keep from being in last place." Midoriya began pressing his fingers together, "So, that means that I owe him in a way." As he finished his sentence, his voice began to falter to little more than a whisper.

Diana slammed her hand on the table, leaning forward and smiling to the other members of the table, "Then, it is settled! We will set out a plan tomorrow and convince Michael Lane to join our table!"

"If we can catch him, that is." The Kryptonian took his fork and took a jab at his food, "The past few times I've tried to catch up to him he would be gone before I could turn my head to see him."

Uraraka gave a nervous laugh, "I noticed that. I sit in front of him, but I never even hear him leave his desk. It's kind of scary."

Diana placed her hand on her chin, "We need a combat strategy to get Lane in a place we can talk to him."

Clark held his free hand up, "We don't need to trap him or anything, we just need the right moment to approach him." He smiled to the others, "I'm sure he'll warm up to the class naturally."

The group moved on from the conversation, taking bites out of their lunches eventually landing back in class. Fortunately for them, their first lesson within the hero course was perfect for the kind of opportunity they were looking for!

The first big assignment of the school curriculum's Hero Basic Training was announced by All Might as he burst through the doors of the classroom.

"I am coming through the door like a normal person!" He announced as he leaned forward on the tip of his feet, holding onto the frame with one hand and letting the momentum carry his blue cape forward.

If Clark were the judge of if the entrance was normal, the number one hero would have gotten a low score. But he at least had to admit that it was a pretty funny way to enter into a room.

As All Might began marching in front of the classroom, he couldn't help but reflect on his family's robes and how similar it looked to All Might's outfit. The way the red and white created a simple pattern on his chest, the pieces that connected the costume to the cape, which luckily Kal-El left out for the time being. He even had a utility belt, although for the red belt on his suit it wasn't actually connected in the center, whereas with the Symbol of Peace, his was connected by a piece that seemed to resemble his own brow ever so slightly.

The pro hero stood behind the podium at the front of the classroom, fists on his hips and a perfect, white grin drawn on his face. "I teach Hero Basic Training! With me, you will train and learn the basics of being a hero on the field." The teacher reeled back, reaching for something at his utility belt, "For today, we'll be indulging in," He whipped back around, pulling out a card that read in English, '_BATTLE.' _"COMBAT TRAINING!"

The majority of the class began grinning at each other rather than towards All Might. Even Clark couldn't help to hold back a small smirk as he scanned the classroom. Within that scan, he noticed five people's reactions which differed in different ways than the rest.

Izuku seemed concerned, as per usual which to the Kryptonian made sense what with his quirk being something that easily shattered his bones when he used it. Katsuki had a grin on his face as well, but his was much more menacing than the rest which Clark could count on two hands the reasons why that might be. Tokoyami withheld the stoic look he normally had, though Dark Shadow seemed to peek around the corner with a face that to him seemed to be excitement. Todoroki seemed to be lost in space, only halfway paying attention. Lastly, Michael, who was stared down the teacher before pulling what looked like a cell phone out of his pocket.

No, it wasn't a cell phone. It looked more militarized than that, much more durable than the typical smartphone. He was quick on it too, typing away on it fast without even looking at it. About as fast as he pulled out the device, he concealed it with a scowl pointed towards the number one hero. That was before he turned to the Kryptonian with the same scowl.

"What do you want?" The Gothamite whispered.

"N-nothing." The alien answered, turning back to the board. Clark returned to the announcements of the teacher.

"And you can't be a proper hero without these!" He waved towards the wall of the classroom. From it, shelves began to emerge and display suitcases with numbers on them for each member of the classroom. "Within those cases are the hero costumes most of you designed during registration before school started. So after you change, meet with the class at Ground Beta!"

Aizawa, who was leaning in the corner of the classroom in his usual yellow sleeping bag, perked up, "Prince, Kent, Lane, come see with me immediately. It's related to that."

The students that weren't called by the lethargic teacher excitedly picked up their suitcases and made their ways outside of the classroom. The other three met with the teacher as they were told.

When the teacher was alone with the three, he began. Though, Clark already knew why he was being called. "None of you sent in designs or registrations for costumes, why?"

Clark was the first to speak up, scratching the back of his head, "Sorry, sir. I didn't see the option to register any costumes. I do have one made already though."

"Is it with you?"

"Um, it's close by, at least." That was a lie. It was at the apartment. But with flight and super speed, no one would be any wiser about him going to retrieve it.

The teacher nodded, "You'll go get it then." He turned to Diana, "What about you?"

She nodded, unbuttoning her dress shirt and revealing her red and gold armor underneath with a grin, "A true warrior always comes prepared!"

The teacher sighed, shaking his head, "Prince, that's against school rules and you know that." He finally looked back at her with the same deadpan expression, "Put your gear in your designated suitcase when this is over, got it?"

Diana let out a small, "Hmph," before crossing her arms and lowering her head, "Fine, I shall heed your instructions."

Aizawa turned to Lane, "Why on earth have you not registered yours? I know _you_ have it."

Michael crossed his arms, "I'm not turning mine in."

"This isn't a discussion; you have to turn yours in like everyone else."

The Gothamite shook his head, standing his ground, "No. If I leave my technology here and someone sabotages it, they could trace it back to me. Or I could be put at risk if something breaks without my knowledge."

Clark raised an eyebrow, "You really think someone here would do that?"

Lane looked back at Clark, his expression static, "It's within the realm of possibility, even if unintentional. In my experience, that kind of caution is necessary."

"I call it irrational paranoia." The teacher replied, "There are reasons why we have these regulations, to ensure no student is putting another at an unnecessary risk." Aizawa was about to continue, but the blonde began before he could finish.

"You already know I wouldn't do that, so that argument is mute. My point is that every single one of us needs every advantage we can get. If my suit is registered, then all the information on it is recorded on your databases, leaving it open to being exposed." The boy turned and began marching out of the classroom, "If your concern is lessening the risk of the students here, then you should avoid putting vital information like that on a system connected via the same servers that connect to the internet."

At that, the Gothamite left the room and the teacher was left gritting his teach and squeezing the bridge of his nose. Diana and Clark glanced at each other before turning back to the teacher. In some ways, the Kryptonian didn't blame him for the points he made. Even if it was paranoia, he could still sympathize with wanting to be sure everything is left how you remember it. Clark honestly just felt kind of bad for how Aizawa struggled to keep the other American on a leash.

Eraserhead didn't even look at them before he brushed them to the side. "That kid is gonna be a headache for the rest of my career." He finally turned to them, "Go get ready for the combat training, I'll be meeting you all down there as well."

Both the students nodded and began heading their way out of the classroom just like Lane had. But before they could step foot out of the classroom, Eraserhead called out to Clark.

"Remember the Quirk Apprehension Test."

Clark scratched the back of his head again and nodded, "Yes, sir."

He remembered, all right. It was the same talk his own father in Kansas would tell him about his powers. Of course, Clark understood why his father didn't want him to go all out and Aizawa must have sensed it, too. Clark was kind of glad that Aizawa called out for him to stop. This had happened once before, after all.

It was fifth grade on Field Day that he learned that lesson the first time. The situation was somewhat similar, too. It was just a game of Football in which Clark insisted he played a defensive role. A lot of the boys on his team weren't happy about it, because they knew that if he had been a quarterback, there wouldn't really be a thing that could stop them from winning the game. So, one of the boys decided to destroy the lunch Clark had with him that day which was waiting on the side for after the game was done. It was blatant that the boy did it in retaliation to Clark's unwillingness to play more aggressively, so in anger he agreed to play the quarterback.

When the alien was up to throw the ball, he definitely did. He threw it straight for the other side of the field and unfortunately one of the kids on Clark's team was picked up by the current created by the force of the ball being thrown. He landed on his arm and he had to be in a cast for a whole month. The Kryptonian really got chewed out for that one, but it was a good lesson to have. One he almost forgot about in trying to show up Bakugo and in showing off to the class.

Aizawa warning him brought him back to his own father's scolding.

He might be in a new school where using powers is allowed in some instances, but that doesn't mean that there aren't limits to how much of those powers he can use. His classmates might be strong, but when compared to him he still needed to be careful around them. They are human still, after all. Clark is not.

**Diana Prince**

The Amazonian finally reached the battlegrounds and slipped into the locker rooms that were attached to the facility. By the time she got there, only Mina and Ochaco were still changing. Though, they were only putting on the last parts of their outfits.

Ochaco had a black, skintight suit with a pink design travelling down her front. She had a pink helmet which seemed to be the sturdiest part of her costume along with her round belt. She had what looked like gauntlets on her wrists and boots that went up to her knees, both pink. Overall, her outfit seemed to go together really well, according to Diana. She was no fashion expert, but at the very least it seemed to suit her and was a very bold design!

Mina was nothing to shy away from either. She had a similar leotard which only reached up to her bosom which was turquoise and purple in an almost camouflage pattern under a leather jacket. The jacket itself did little to cover her arms but did have fur lining the collar. She was also in the middle of pushing her feet into a pair of boots which seemed to parallel the colors of the jacket.

The Amazonian smiled at the two with a wide grin, "You two have such unique designs for your garments."

Mina turned to Diana with a grin of her own before giving her a thumbs up, "It's pretty cute, isn't it!" She turned back and pushed her other foot into the final boot, "What's your hero outfit like, Prince?"

Uraraka beamed with a nod, "Yeah, I was curious, too. You seem to have a sort of theme with the way you talk."

Diana gave a soft chuckle before turning to her own locker, quickly taking off the school uniform, "I have been trying to accustom myself to more casual conversation." She threw off her jacket and shirt into the locker, revealing the armor underneath and pulling out the golden lasso under her belt before doing the same to her skirt as she did with the rest of the uniform, "Though, at my roots I am still an Amazonian!"

She turned around, showcasing the red and gold armor over the blue, armored skirt. She snagged the Lasso of Truth on her side so it would stay in place, giving a nod to the other girls.

Uraraka perked up, skipping toward Diana to get a closer look, "Wow, it really does look like you're an Amazonian warrior! You put a lot of thought into the design, Prince."

Mina placed her hand on her chin, nodding as she scanned the outfit, "That really is a confident costume. Maybe a bit too confident, though."

"Nonsense, my friend!" Diana smiled, slamming her right hand against her chest, "None can ever be too confident in how they present themselves. So long as they don't proceed towards arrogance, of course."

Mina waved her hand in front of her face, "I'm not disagreeing with you. All I'm saying is that you might want to watch yourself around Mineta is all."

"Ah, yes." Diana nodded, stepping towards the pinkette, Uraraka walking beside her, "Have no fear, if the scoundrel comes near, I shall tie him to a pole with the Lasso of Truth so his mouth shall remain closed."

Mina giggled as they turned towards the city, "I like that plan. Let us go see what the boys designed for their costumes."

The girls walked through the halls, very quickly finding their way outside where the rest of the students were congregating. They were all talking amongst themselves, admiring each other's costumes with pride. Though not all the boys were outside yet, the majority of them were. Their costumes were also unique and made with both functionality and style in mind.

They consisted of things which complimented their personalities, like Bakugo's costume representing everything explosive and Jirou's costume mostly consisting of that which one would expect someone wearing if they were in a group of musicians she had recently told Diana about them being in a genre called 'punk.' But other's costumes seemed to be more practical than for style, the prime example being Tenya, who seemed to be wearing plated armor and looked like one of the robots Diana had seen on her TV at home. Overall, it was thrilling to see everyone's ideas of themselves as heroes coming into fruition!

Denki Kaminari walked by the group of girls, stepping back and looking at the girl's costumes. "Wow, everyone seems to be looking really awesome in their costumes! What is that armor made of, Prince? It seems really light."

"They are simple metals and leathers." She held up her gauntlets with a nod, "My bracelets, however, are indestructible! A reward for a victory of valor on Themyscira."

"Indestructible, huh?" The blonde scratched the back of his head, "I really hope you don't actually try to block something with those, that might seriously get you hurt."

Diana raised an eyebrow, "You believe I tell tales?"

"I mean, yeah." Denki shrugged his shoulders, "That's just a story you made up, right? To go with your hero identity. 'Cause you're kind of sounding chuuni right now."

Diana crossed her arms, frowning, "Why is it each time I speak truth, all I am met with is-?"

As she was about to finish her retaliation, a noise began to circulate from above. It was a great distance away at first, but it was rapidly approaching. As it did, the noise would increase in volume! At first, it sounded like a jet was flying way too low, but when looking up at the clear sky, no plane was in sight.

Before the students knew it, something had landed in a small distance away from them. It slammed against the ground, cratering into the pavement hard enough to send small pebbles flying in any direction! When everything settled, everyone was finally able to look up.

Knelt against the pavement was a boy with black hair and wearing a blue, skin-tight leotard with a red and yellow 'S' on his chest in the shape of a diamond. The smile was unmistakable, and so was his voice.

"Prince is right, Kaminari. You should try to keep an open mind just in case you need to depend on those indestructible bracelets one day."

"That was one hell of an entrance!" Kirishima shouted as he stumbled over to Clark, "That was so manly!"

Everyone gathered towards Clark, who joined in the complimenting of each other's costumes. All except Kaminari, who was facing him but was scratching the back of his head. He sighed, turning to face Diana.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to insult you like that." He cocked his head to the side, almost avoiding making eye contact, "The bracelets do look really cool."

The Amazonian smiled with a nod, "Your jacket doesn't look half bad, either." She held out a hand, which he took and shook happily, "Perhaps I can show you the true might of an Amazonian today."

He nodded with a wide grin, "Maybe I can show you the power of my electricity, then!"

She nodded back to him just in time to take notice of Uraraka who was already grouped up with Tenya and Izuku. The latter of whom was in his light green costume which to her seemed to resemble a rabbit on the hood. He also had a belt around his waist with pouches lining it. Overall, the costume seemed a lot more homemade than the rest of the costumes on display.

She waved to Kaminari and joined the group before the teachers began to speak. All Might had opened his mouth, but paused to look at Izuku. He seemed to cough with a nervous twist to it. He pushed whatever Midoriya made him nervous about to the side before scanning the crowd.

"Seems like we're missing a student. Where is Michael Lane?"

Everyone looked around, but he wasn't in any of the crowds. So, when a shadow moved overhead on a cloudless day, the last thing anyone expected was for said shadow to land with a thud. It rose from the ground slowly and as it did it turned back slowly, meeting everyone with pale skin and eyes that seemed to glow a blank white. With horns rising from the top of the head and a scowl staring back at the crowd with a scowl.

"So, you finally decided to join us, Lane." Eraserhead groaned from the front of the crowd. "Why couldn't you or Clark walk through like a normal person?"

"If it's all the same to you, Eraserhead," the Gothamite began, slowly turning his voice into a growl, "You know which name I prefer in costume."

With a sigh, the teacher nodded, "Fine, it's not worth the energy arguing with you anyways, Batman."

Izuku audibly swallowed a lump in his throat at the name. This only caused Diana to raise an eyebrow. She leaned over to the shorter boy, nudging him to get his attention.

"Are you truly so off-put by his outfit?" She glanced back at the dark figure, "I think it rather fits his demeanor."

"I-it's not so much the outfit as it is w-w-what it means that he's wearing it." He whispered, rubbing both of his arms, "I-I've heard a lot of stories, and none of them are good. Any time he's mentioned in articles from America, he supposedly leaves every b-bad guy with broken bones and scared beyond belief. Even then, no one knew if he really existed because there was n-n-never any evidence on him aside from a handful of blurry photos. Some people even say he killed a crime boss after he was arrested."

Diana crossed her arms, eyebrows upturned as she turned towards Michael. This time, he noticed and turned towards her with his pure white eyes. She smiled softly before responding to Izuku with a shake of her head, "I don't believe he would do that. He doesn't have the eyes of a killer."

All Might began talking again, so Diana turned back to the front to pay attention. "Now, shall we begin, you zygotes!"

The pro hero didn't have any room to breath before Tenya's hand rose into the air. "This is the same arena used for the Entrance Exams, yes? Does that mean we'll be conducting the urban battles again?"

"Not quite, Tenya! This time around, we're going to do things a bit differently." All Might stuck one finger in the air, "For the entrance exams, much like how it is on the field, most of the time fighting villains will take place outside. However, that doesn't mean they never decide to take the fight in close quarters. In fact, the most intelligent and dangerous criminals tend to fight indoors for various reasons, including the fact that it limits the over-the-top actions that otherwise would land them victory. So, for today's hero training, we will be focusing on that aspect of an encounter!"

Tsuyu placed a finger on her chin before cocking her head to the side, "Without basic training?"

He nodded, "The experience will help you understand those basics!" The large man beckoned towards the buildings down the street, "In groups of two, you all will be placed in two teams, one side being heroes and the other being villains. In which the two teams will be placed inside the buildings, although this isn't just a two on two deathmatch." The Symbol of Peace held up both hands, pumping his left fist first, "The villains will be in charge of protecting a bomb held at random locations within the various buildings. When the timer runs out or all the heroes are put under submission, the villains win! However," he pumped his right fist, "The heroes can win by either putting handcuffs on all the villains provided by us, your instructors, or by simply touching the bomb before the time runs out."

The hero placed a hand on his chin, looking at the crowd and glancing at each student individually, "Although, it seems we are one student short of having even teams."

Clark raised his hand immediately, "If you need a team of one, sir, I can volunteer."

"Are you sure, young Kent?" The hero crossed his arms, "It may prove difficult to handle two real opponents at once."

_For most people, maybe, but for someone with the strength gifted by the gods like Kent and I, _Diana reasoned, _it should be no real issue._

The Kansas boy nodded with a smile, "Don't worry, I'm sure I'll manage. Otherwise, someone will have to fight twice and I don't think that's fair on them."

The pro hero nodded, "Fair enough. You will be team A then, Clark Kent! As for the rest of you," the hero brought out a hat with small scraps of paper written on the inside, "You will be drawing from this hat to determine your teams."

So, everyone walked up to the hat and began pulling out their individual sets of cards. Diana was paired with Mashiro Ojiro whose quirk seemed to be his tail and a costume which was heavily inspired by a martial arts uniform with a black belt around his waist. Midoriya was paired with Uraraka, which gave her a breath of relief that he wasn't paired with Bakugo. Though, unfortunately, Tenya was paired with him.

_Athena guide you, Tenya_. _I know this battle may prove difficult for you yet. _She prayed before turning to her own partner with a thumb up. Everyone else got together with their groups.

All seemed to be well apart from Michael, who was paired with Toru Hagakure, a girl whose quirk was invisibility. She only had gloves and boots for her quirk, but because she was always invisible it didn't seem to matter too much. There wasn't exactly anything to reveal. She was still standing a distance away from him and seemed to be too nervous to step forward. Ojiro noticed this, too.

He sighed, scratching the back of his head, "I'm not sure who I feel the most sympathy for between them." He turned to Diana with a small smile, "I'm sure you will be doing a lot of the heavy lifting in our fight together, but I hope I can be useful."

Diana gave him a wide grin before wrapping one arm around his shoulders beside him, "If you put your all in the coming battle, you are doing more than enough, my friend!" She shook him softly from side to side, "We will put that strong tail to use yet."

Ojiro nodded as he turned to the side with a smile on his face and running his hand through the side of his blonde hair, "Um, thanks! I'll do what I can, then."

With twelve teams and twenty-three students ready to figure out which teams they were on, two boxes on carts were pulled next to the pro hero. One was black with white texted that read, "Villains" in English. The other box was white with black text, which read, "Hero" in English.

The hero's voice boomed, "Now, let's see who our heroes and villains are, then!"

He swiftly pushed his hands into the holes on the top of the boxes, pulling out two large balls which matched the color scheme of their respective boxes. The black ball had a white 'F' on it and the white ball had a black 'B' on it.

"Team B will be the heroes and team F the villains!"

"Those teams are…" Diana glanced once at team B, "Midoriya and Uraraka," then once at team F, "Bakugo and Tenya…" She placed her face in her hand, "Midoriya, what have you done to forsake the Fates?"

The rest of the students were ordered to go a room so they could watch over the fight. They followed their instructions and gathered in a room which had plenty of monitors that looks state-of-the-art and seemed to have more clarity than one's eyes! All Might left the students in the room to give the two teams their final instructions but returned swiftly. For this training, the villains were given ample time to learn the building and make strategies towards the heroes while they waited outside. Through the cameras, it didn't take long for the villains to find the bomb they were meant to protect.

The heroes were waiting outside, talking amongst themselves. Both sides seemed to have one member with the exact opposite tones. Midoriya was stiff, a blatant nervous wreck. Bakugo was hunched in anger, staring down the doorway the two villains used to enter the room with the bomb. Uraraka and Tenya simply seemed like bystanders to their personal conflict between each other.

"Those two have history." Batman growled. It caused Diana to jump, same with Clark who was standing on the other side of him.

Clark nodded, turning to the screens, "According to Midoriya, Bakugo was a childhood friend turned bully. Though, Midoriya never told us about why he might have done that."

"Then you weren't listening to Bakugo." The Gothamite stated matter of fact like. "He wasn't just reacting as if he wasn't capable. He seemed to think Midoriya had been lying about something."

Clark shook his head, "Hold on, what are you suggesting here, Lane?"

"I'm saying," the boy whispered, turning to the screen as the battle commenced, "I'm certain that Midoriya was somehow given a quirk."

Clark scrunched his brow, obviously confused by such a statement. Diana, however, knew that Michael was right. She thought back to when they first met, he was scolded for being quirkless and trying to intervene in a villain's wrongdoings while she was being scolded for using a sword against him and potentially killing the villain. Even at the beach the second time they met, Izuku confirmed that he didn't have a quirk and was still pushing to become a hero. That wasn't what was bothering her, however.

"Why are you bringing this up with us?" She inquired, turning her head to the screen and watching Bakugo march down the hall away from the bomb room as Tenya yelled back at him.

Batman responded, "You two are his friends, I was curious about what you knew."

"Is that the only reason?"

He didn't respond. Diana chuckled a bit to herself before turning back to the screen and watching as the two childhood friends finally met up.

Uraraka slipped by, Bakugo not even trying to stop her from proceeding. There was a much more important battle between them. Although the class couldn't hear what they were saying, it was clear there was a lot of tension in the hallway they stopped in. It wasn't long until that tension turned to action, prompting the two to launch forward and engage in battle. Meanwhile, Uraraka had found her way into the bomb room and meeting Tenya who had adopted a much more menacing stance than he usually did.

He was taking the role a bit too seriously.

When Bakugo initiated on their end of the fight, he rushed forward. Despite how nervous Izuku seemed, he was able to counter the first move successfully. As Bakugo went to throw the first strike with his right hand Izuku rushed forward in a swift dash, grabbing hold of his striking arm and jumping upwards to catch his head with his legs. Bakugo was brought down and Izuku pivoted him into the ground using his left elbow, effectively slamming the blonde into the ground by his head.

Diana recognized that move. While the rest of the peers were awing at the movement, she turned to Batman, nudging him with her elbow, "Looks like he's taking your moves."

The boy in the cowl cocked his head to the side, "The movement was similar, but he isn't a practiced fighter."

"Oh? And that isn't jealousy speaking?" She teased.

He beckoned to the screen and when Diana looked back, Bakugo was already back on his feet and rushing towards Izuku again. Luckily, the green-haired boy was able to roll to the side before the explosion went off where he once sat.

The former vigilante finally responded, "If that move is done right, especially on concrete, anyone without an endurance enhancing quirk should be out of commission or dazed enough to deliver the final blow." Batman let his arms fall under his cape, "He's good at thinking on his feet, but he doesn't have experience putting it into action, yet."

She laughed a little, turning back to the screen as her friends continued their training, "Don't worry, I still think you're the better fighter."

"Is that sarcasm?"

She didn't answer, mainly due to the fact that Bakugo released an explosion from his palm that burst through one of the walls of the building. Izuku was able to dodge it, but only by the narrowest of margins. Aizawa marched over to the microphone to the arena, slamming his hand down.

"Both of you, be more careful about your surroundings! If the building takes too much infrastructural damage, both teams will be disqualified."

Bakugo yelled into the air on-screen, which was barely audible from inside the control room. The two continued their fighting, meanwhile Uraraka struggled to get past Tenya's safeguarding of the bomb. It was a very unfortunate situation for her, as Tenya had the speed to counter nearly everything she could pull. He was even able to jump into the air just high enough to bring her back down when she tried to jump over him after relieving herself of her own gravity towards the Earth. Without some major action, it wasn't likely that Izuku and Midoriya was going to win.

Major action there was, Midoriya had seemed to form a plan before the training commenced. When the two gained some distance from each other, they both rushed forward. It was obvious Bakugo was going for another powerful explosion like he was warned not to, but Midoriya followed through with a blow of his own! He activated his quirk, though unlike the Quirk Apprehension Test he used his entire arm rather than simply using his index finger. He threw his strike upwards, the combination of both of their attacks created a hole all the way through the building and creating a gap between Tenya, Uraraka, and the bomb!

Uraraka used that chance to hit the debris around her with a pillar and launching it all towards Tenya and dazing him. This gave her the perfect chance to send herself towards the bomb and sieze the victory!

Both teams eventually came back to the monitor room, except for Izuku due to the injuries he received which sent him to the nurse's office instead. Iida was given the title of the MVP during the match by All Might whom prompted the students to try and answer why, which Momo Yaoyorozu gave an extensive response to. "Both Midoriya and Bakugo used moves in their fights that were too over the top for indoor battles, as All Might explained before and Uraraka used a strategy that only worked because of the fact the fight was training and the environment was made of papier-mâché in large part which would be incredibly dangerous if done in practice. Iida simply was the only person who stayed the truest to the training and adapted to the situation as it unfolded."

Michael crossed his arms with a grunt, which got All Might's attention. The Pro Hero heard it, clearing his throat, "Young Lane, do you have something to add?"

"I just disagree with Uraraka's pillar move being too dangerous. It was a strategy which would daze a more powerful opponent and incapacitate most other criminals in the field."

Momo frowned, crossing her arms and turning to face him herself, "That kind of attack using real stone debris would break bones at the least and cause internal bleeding at most, Lane! You can't be saying that's acceptable for a hero."

"Yaoyorozu is correct," All Might explained, "That amount of brutality-."

"Is what it takes to neutralize the enemy in the quickest without killing them. If they were real criminals, they would seem to have no problem killing thousands of people judging by the size of that nuclear warhead." He lowered his head into a glare towards both, "Do you really think we have time for formalities with that many lives at stake?"

"It isn't simply formalities, Batman. By law, that level of brutality is prohibited." Momo explained. "Disregarding it would place you in the same place as vigilantes."

All Might stepped between the two students, stopping the argument there, "This is a great discussion for when we discuss the laws of Pro Heroes, but for now we still have many groups to send through training, so let us focus on that, shall we?"

The pro hero didn't give either student time to reply before he pulled out two more balls for the next set of combatants.

**Clark Kent**

Three other groups went before the Kryptonian was up to the plate. He was picked out of the 'villains' box and it was just his luck that he was pitted against Team K as the heroes, which just so happened to be Michael and Toru. It wasn't the fact that he was fighting the people he had a problem with. It was what Toru was wearing.

Or, better put, what she _wasn't_ wearing.

She was standing around in nothing but shoes and gloves during the entire time and no one else was saying anything about it! As much as Clark hated to admit it, it took a lot out of him to not look when she was in line of sight. It made him feel gross that he was struggling so much to not look at her when even Mineta seemed completely disinterested in her! His solution was to simply be turned away from her during the training, and he had been doing that since everyone had put on their hero costumes. But now, there was no doubt that it was going to be unavoidable to have to face her like that.

The three of them were currently standing outside of the building while they were instructed by All Might. Clark was to find the room and prepare for the heroes to arrive before they searched for him and the bomb. Easy enough.

He turned to his opponents, holding out a hand to Michael first. "May the best man win, right?"

"We'll see about that, Smallville." The Gothamite didn't shake the hand.

Fortunately, though mostly unfortunately, in his place Toru shook his hand, a large smile forming on her pale face, "Good luck in there, Kent! You're gonna need it."

Clark averted his eyes, scratching the back of his head while his face became notably red, "U-um, yeah. I probably will." He turned to the entrance, rushing in, "Best hop to it, then!" He remarked with a laugh that was obviously nervous.

As he floated towards the room, he took a deep breath as he tried to calm down. He had to focus; he couldn't let anything distract him lest Michael get the drop on him by sneaking inside and reaching the bomb without him noticing. Somehow, he was able to get by him without being noticed, even with Lane's enhanced hearing and this would be no different. In fact, he knew it would be even more difficult for him to locate him now that this was going to be an active fight! Plus, now he had his hero gear to help him even further.

He finally reached the bomb room, checking every wall and even the ceiling for ways Lane could enter from. It was a corner room, so windows were lined on two walls facing the outside. There were also ventilation shafts above him which were wide enough to fit a person. Lastly, there was the door to the room itself from the hall. Knowing all the possible entrances to the room, he began to get to work.

Clark hovered to pillars closest to the windows, striking them so that the fragile materials created dust and rocks that would scrape the ground and alert Clark if Batman decided to enter through them. Then, he moved on to the ventilation, removing panels and punching the vents slightly out of place so that if he decided to move in them, he would fall right through and into the Kryptonian's line of sight. He moved on to the wall that separated him from the next room. He struck the wall before moving forward and eventually destroying the entire wall so that the next room was entirely visible.

Feeling confident that the rest of the paths Batman could potentially move through were taken care of, all he needed to do was watch the hall and take them down as they moved in!

The siren sounded and the training commenced. For a few seconds, nothing seemed to happen. However, the pitter patter of feet soon became audible.

It was definitely Hagakure, but Clark dreaded to find out why her footsteps sounded less shoe-like. It took around a minute before she popped her head through the doorframe. Her long, brown hair fell off her bare shoulder before she grinned and began tiptoeing along the side of the room.

Clark sighed, not able to face her, "Is this some sort of joke, Hagakure?"

She stopped dead in her tracks, the grin no longer on her face.

"Why are you naked?" Clark groaned.

"H-hey! Don't ask me that so casually, I can't help it!" She shouted, her face now becoming slightly pink as well. "It's the only thing I can do with my quirk!"

"What kind of quirk makes it so you can't wear clothes?!"

"What do you mean by that?" She slammed her foot on the ground, gesturing toward her body, "Just look at me, I'm completely invisible!"

Clark began laughing. It was definitely a joke, "What are you talking about?" He waved towards her, still avoiding eye contact, "You're not invisible! You're right there!"

"What are you-?" Her eyes widened, "Are you saying my invisibility quirk doesn't work on you?"

"Are you activating it now?"

"It doesn't activate." She paused before stepping back and her face changing to one of shock, "You can see me."

She looked down slowly before covering herself up and shrieking. She ran out of the room the same way she came in, tears trailing down her face, "You saw everything!"

The Kryptonian didn't blame her. Though, now he felt really dirty and the silence was now terribly awkward.

Silence?

Clark remembered where he was, that there was another person to look out for! He turned around, scanning the room with his x-ray vision. Nothing in the room, so he turned to look up. Nothing in the vents, so he scanned the outside walls. Nothing outside, so it seemed like he was clear in all directions.

"Wait a minute." Clark came to a horrific realization. "I forgot down!"

He jerked his head down, looking to the floor below and finding Batman staring up with a smirk on his face and a small item in his hand.

"Surprise, Smallville." That was the last thing he heard before the item in his hand exploded!

The explosion rang in his ears and burned his eyes! It felt like such a repulsing action to his senses that he was immediately sent to the ground in pain. He had never had a headache that ever reached this level of pain, all he wanted to do was slam his head into the ground and make it stop! He was so caught up in the pain gouging his senses that he almost didn't notice his leg being grabbed.

He was pulled before being struck in the face. This didn't hurt, but the next strike did. This strike was different, this one sent a shock through his body and made his muscles on contract at once! He was struck again, which finally made him realize how his sense of touch was being put through the wringer. He was being electrocuted.

It wasn't nearly as painful as what the flash did, but it still stung. After a few more strikes to the stomach, and a final blow to the head, his vision and hearing began to clear up. Above him stood the other American with two yellow devices on his fists that seemed to double as a pair of tasers and knuckledusters.

"Stay down." He commanded.

Clark didn't listen. He threw a strike at the boy, sending him flying towards the wall just hard enough that he was able to bounce off of it. The Kryptonian wasn't finished with him, yet! The alien dashed forward, crashing into Batman and flying him through the wall and into the next room. The caped student slid across the ground managing to roll back on his feet, though he was seething through clenched teeth.

"What was that?" The alien demanded.

"I told you before that I would teach you the downside of enhanced hearing." He growled, rising from his hunch and into a fighting stance, "I included the lesson on enhanced vision, free of charge."

Clark was fuming now. "Guess you've got me all figured out, huh?"

"Not yet, but at least you've confirmed two of my suspicions."

"Oh, and what are those?"

"You definitely aren't human."

Clark rushed forward, grabbing the boy by the throat slamming him into the opposite wall. He reeled a fist back, narrowing his gaze on the boy, "What was that second suspicion?"

The alarm was sounded that the match was over. All Might came on over the speakers.

_"The heroes take this round! Come on back so we can evaluate you all!"_

Clark dropped Lane, the boy landing on his feet and rubbing his throat with a cough. When he regained his composure, he looked up towards the bomb room. Clark turned around, Toru standing while covering her chest and giving a thumb up to her teammate. The alien turned back to Michael.

"You confirmed that you'd hand us the win."

"I was lying about the human part, by the way." Clark continued to glare at the Gothamite despite him retracting his previous statement. The student began marching out of the room, turning back before he left the room entirely. "You and Midoriya both need to work on your poker faces."

Batman left the room one step closer to knowing more about Clark than he was comfortable with.

**Batman**

There was four notable things that happened after his fight with Clark. The first thing was that he was finally able to see some of Shoto Todoroki's abilities in action which were remarkable to say the least; he had extensive control over his powers which was exemplified by his ability to only freeze the ground, the nuke and the feet of his opponent. The second thing was that Diana Prince was able to break free of that same ice and when presented with a furthered fight between her and Todoroki, she smashed through the ice blockades he made with ease. The third thing was that Bruce's body ached.

He didn't expect Clark to have such strong reactions to being accused of not being human. The original plan was to have him laugh off such a ridiculous accusation and for Bruce to continue to rattle off the reasons why such a suspicion would be. It would be explained by having a quirk that simply enhanced his senses to an unnatural degree and having flight being the secondary quirk. That was what he had written on his quirk registration card he turned into the city hall when he transferred to Japan and U.A., after all. That would simply be a distraction for Hagakure to sneak by while Clark laughed off such wild accusations, whom he never would have thought to return his attention to after she discovered he could see her bare body.

That changed a lot of the approaches and hypotheses Bruce had on the other boy and now his line of questions would hinge on a single question that would need to be answered first: What is Clark Kent?

This question would need to be answered at a later date, as there was one more thing that needed to be dealt with. The fourth notable thing that happened. Eraserhead was called out of the room during some of the last few rounds of training by the police chief, Kenji Tsuragamae, whose head resembled that of a dog. When he returned, Aizawa pulled Bruce to the side and asked him to meet him after school in the costume at the outside of the school gate.

The only thing that Batman could tell about that kind of request was that there was no way it was good.

When the final bell rang, Bruce was out of his seat and out of the door instantaneously. He rushed towards the top of the school, eventually reaching the door to the school roof. It was locked via a panel next to the door which was encrypted using WayneTech servers. Having a PDA with all the encryption codes to bypass one's own security had its privileges. In one swift movement, Bruce opened activated the bypass and swung the door open.

As he marched towards the center of the roof, a section of the roof began to rise with a showcase of the Batsuit. It didn't take long for him to slip on the costume and place his school clothes in the display case. The case descended back into the rooftop concrete, sealing and blending back into the construction of the building as if it never existed. With the suit prepped, he began to march towards the front of the school, propping his foot on the railing and looking down to figure out where Aizawa was waiting. It while he was scanning for Aizawa that someone else seemed to make eye contact with him.

The individual began to rise from the ground, soaring upwards until he was even above the disguised billionaire. "We're talking." The Kansas boy demanded.

"Some other time, Smallville. I'm busy."

"You can brood in your hero outfit while we talk."

Batman looked up at the boy, "I was told to meet with Eraserhead in costume. Something came up."

"'Something came up,' huh?" Clark echoed, crossing his arms, "Then I'm going with you so we can talk in private right after."

"That's up to Aizawa if you come with us." Batman explained before pushing himself up on the railing, both feet now balancing his entire weight on it, "Unless you're afraid to break the rules like everyone else."

Clark scoffed, "I'm not doing it to be rebellious. You know why this is important."

"I'm not rebellious for the sake of rebelling."

"Hey, I believe you."

"Your sarcasm isn't lost on me."

Bruce spotted the teacher strolling towards the front entrance where a black car was parked. So, the ex-vigilante leaned forward, letting gravity pull him closer to the Earth and letting it build up his momentum. When enough speed had been achieved, Batman took hold of the cape and it began to remember it's shape. With the shape of the memory fiber spread wide he slowly reeled back, gaining more horizontal speed as he lost vertical speed.

At his side, Clark followed him in his descent with his hand on his chin. "Wait, so you can't fly? Not even if you flap?"

Bruce grunted in annoyance. The other American shrugged. After a few more seconds of descent, the billionaire reeled back once more so he was almost vertical. He rose slightly, but his horizontal speed stopped almost entirely before he dropped the cape and let himself land in a crouch in order to minimize any potential damage that could be done. Though, this still hurt from the injuries he'd sustained from hero training.

He rose from the ground, turning around to meet Aizawa face to face, who sighed before shaking his head, "Why can't you ever arrive like a normal person?" He looked up at Clark, "Using your quirk without a license is prohibited, Kent."

"Sir, I want to come with you."

"Absolutely not."

Clark landed on the ground, "Sorry, sir, it's just that Lane and I had plans after school today. This kind of messes with that."

The police chief stepped out of the car before waving to Kent, "Hey, kid! Long time no see. Unfortunately, this is police business and strictly confidential."

Batman turned to the dog-headed man, crossing his arms, "Tsuragamae. It wouldn't have anything to do with a crime scene at Snipe's apartment, would it?"

Kenji's brow scrunched as he lowered his head, "I'm going to skip the part where I ask you how you knew about it, _woof_. From what Aizawa told me about you I don't think I'm going to like the answer." He beckoned towards the other American, "You know this much now, kid. If you're still adamant about having your play date with Lane that's your call. I'll warn you now, though, this scene gave some of the veterans on the force something to puke over."

"Hold on, Tsuragamae!" Aizawa stepped towards the chief, "You can't be serious about that."

"That boy's trying to be a hero, isn't he?" The chief explained as he took a step back into the car, "Every hero learns at some point or another that it ain't always pretty. Besides, he already knows the long and short of it now. The decision is still his."

The teacher gave up trying to argue, and the four of them climbed into the car.


	11. The Detective

_**Diaspared: I understand your concern about Clark being too powerful, but in most scenarios he's overpowered even in the DC Universe. It's kind of the fun of his character in that with writing, a lot of the conflict is not as straightforward as "good guy fights bad guy."**_

_**Shadow Joestar: Batman and Clark do have an interesting friendship to say the least. As for Diana and Izuku shipping, I can kind of see it but my focus is on the story first and foremost. If shipping happens I want it to feel natural and like it has its place within the story rather than just personal fantasy within headcanon or whatever else.**_

_**With reviews out of the way, let's get right into the investigation!**_

* * *

_**Batman**_

It didn't take long for Tsuragamae, Eraserhead, Clark Kent and Batman to arrive and climb the four flights of stairs towards the apartment. The yellow tape started at the door frame and the mailbox which was full compared to the rest of the apartments, not uncommon when no one is alive to pick it up. As the four of them reached the door, the smell of rotting flesh filled the air. To his right, Clark visibly covered his mouth and nose in a vain attempt to mask the stench. The teacher and the chief stepped aside and let Batman enter first.

"The reason why I asked you to come in is because the package on the table has your name on it." He turned to the chief, who simply waved to the crime scene, "Besides, I heard you did some detective work in Gotham, so I want you to go through the crime scene out loud. We can see where our stories line up and find the best conclusion."

Batman turned back to the scene, taking in everything. The first thing he noticed in the room was the box in the center which sat on a coffee table. It was simply cardboard with a piece of paper taped to the top with English characters that read:

_To: Batman_

_From: __

Then, he noticed the body of Snipes which laid just past the table on his stomach. The rest of the room was a mess in general with objects which were shattered or in general just scattered around. The walls were also spray painted in red and green with smiley faces and _'HA' _written in various, seemingly random locations.

Batman marched past the box to the body, which only had a few ligaments raised slightly from the ground. His right hand was reaching for the back door to the porch which was slightly open. Most disturbingly, however, was that his face was nearly unrecognizable as his face was distorted into a forced smile and his skin was almost white. "Snipe's body is experiencing rigor mortis, the first state of decomposition. This means that the time of death could be around one to three days ago. However, he was present at U.A. two days ago." Bruce brought up his gauntlet, which Alfred was currently sending any news surrounding hero work Snipe was involved in to the display. "With the addition of his hero outfit and without any hero work to speak of after that workday, it's safe to say Snipe died when he came home immediately after his shift at the Academy."

Batman examined the items that were scavenged from Snipe's person before turning to the chief, "Did anyone complain about noise?"

The chief shook his head. "No, nothing was reported until he was found."

"Who found the body?"

"One of the neighbors, but they didn't see anything apart from what we're seeing here."

"It's safe to assume there was no struggle then."

The chief crossed his arms, beckoning towards the room, "How do you figure that with the mess?"

Batman pointed to the door of the apartment to a door knob and frame which was intact, "There are no signs of a break in, there were no reports of even a noise complaint, and I don't see any bullet holes in the walls or furniture. Nor are there any casings or potential weapons around Snipe."

"Do you think whatever killed him was a poison? It would explain the facial disfigurement and skin pigment."

Batman turned back to the body, "I can't determine that without a full-on autopsy. But it's most likely related."

"It was a gas." Clark added, causing Bruce and the others to turn to him, "I can still see remnants of the chemical in the air, though it's not concentrated enough to really do anything anymore."

"Your quirk is?"

Clark turned to him, "The best way to describe it is that my body is enhanced to an extreme. That extends to my senses."

Tsuragamae shook his head, "I'd need to run a few tests before I can believe that you can see singular particles in the air."

"Regardless of if you believe him based off that, everything else points to that deduction." Batman responded, directing everyone to the Snipe's right hand, "He was reaching for the back door, the closest access to clean air." He then directed to the vents around the apartment which were covered by plastic lids, "The ventilation connecting the apartments were also covered, which would explain why no one else was affected by any gas. The door was also slightly ajar, allowing the gas to escape before anyone found the body and died from it themselves."

Tsuragamae scratched the top of his head, looking down towards Snipe's mask, "Snipe's mask has a filter on it. Shouldn't that mean he would have been able to survive a gas hitting him?"

Bruce picked up the mask, taking apart the mouthpiece and finding an almost fresh filter in it. "Maybe if it were one of the newer prototypes being tested by the military. His gas mask is closer to conventional mediums; the filters most masks use only protect against _some _chemicals, his was designed to filter out his own grenades. If he didn't expect to come into contact with this gas, or if it's something we've never seen before, he couldn't have been completely protected against it."

The teacher perked his head up, "You think it might be Scarecrow's fear toxin? Here in Japan, it's completely unheard of."

Batman shook his head, "Dr. Crane's toxin was purely neurological. It can be lethal, but it wouldn't cause these kinds of contortions."

Eraserhead crossed his arms and closed his eyes, "Regardless of how he died, it's clear from the package that Snipe's death was merely a beacon to get your attention. How likely is it that is still is an old rival from Gotham?"

"I don't want to jump to any conclusions, Eraserhead." He turned back to the teacher, "It isn't as if I'm an unknown in Japan. It's possible that it's just a criminal trying to make a name for themselves."

The dog man groaned with a few taps to his own shoulder, "What are you two talking about?"

Bruce stood from the body, marching towards the box, "I made plenty of enemies back home and there are still two crime bosses running rampant in Gotham taking control of the lost Falcone territory. Falcone being the original crime lord of Gotham, if you recall." Batman ducked down closer to the box, "The only person I can think of who is sadistic enough to do something like this is Oswald Cobblepot, but this doesn't fit his M.O. He's a businessman first and foremost. Drawing my attention like this isn't good for his business, especially with his newly built Iceberg Lounge. As for Scarecrow, his name is Jonathan Crane who was a doctor that worked at an old insane asylum called Arkham. He produced a neurological weapon which when ingested causes the victim to perceive everything through a lens of fear; he even used it on me, though it was a small dose so I was able overcome it when I impacted a car."

"You were hit by a car!?" Clark audibly recoiled.

The detective turned to him, "It was parked." He turned back to the package, "Though, I did fall from the eighth story." Bruce proceeded to open the box, finding the lid on the side facing the couch and examining it for any triggers, "Either Cobblepot or Roman Sionis, the second crime boss, could have hired a hitman. But any hitman would come after me directly to claim their reward as soon as possible. As for Scarecrow, he seemed to fall of the face of the Earth since Carmine Falcone died. It could be his way of trying to ward me from getting involved." Finding no trigger to speak of, the detective used the blades on his gauntlet to carefully release the lid before sliding it open.

By now, the police chief, the teacher and the other student were on either side of him, peering into the box with the ex-vigilante. Along with the flies that were released, a stench swarmed the room. Inside the box was a sleeved arm laying dormant on a stand. Even with large sections of the skin having been consumed by the bugs, Batman recognized the arm immediately.

"This was where it went."

Clark, who was now looking a few shades paler, frowned towards Bruce, "You were looking for a severed arm."

"GCPD was. This is the missing arm of Salvatore Maroni, a third crime boss that was found tortured and dead on the doorsteps of the police department a little more than a week ago." Batman turned to Eraserhead, "Looks like your suspicion was right after all."

"Too bad they didn't leave a return address." Clark remarked, "That would have made it really easy to see who sent this mail."

_Mail? _Bruce marched towards the door, grabbing the mail and setting it beside the box and sifting through the seven envelopes. There were only two envelopes with a sender to them, the other five were entirely blank! Bruce tore open each of the five envelopes, which were all numbered one through five. Once they were all in order, they read in large letters written with red wax: _HAAAH AHHAA HAAAA HAHHA AHAHA._

The Kansas boy crossed his arms, "They're laughing at us."

Eraserhead crossed his own arms, "Looks more like a code to me."

"A Bacon's cipher to be exact." Bruce placed his hand on his chin, "The letters of paper are representative of letters of a word. The 'H's' and the 'A's' are usually represented by 'A's' and 'B's.'"

The police chief pressed his fingers against his temples before turning to Aizawa, "Any idea what word that makes, Eraserhead?"

The hero shrugged his shoulders, "I'm not too familiar with Bacon's cipher. There are only a few letters I can make remember with the different combinations the codes can substitute. Even then, it doesn't seem to be any more than gibberish."

"That's because it's been compounded with a Caesar cipher as well, which is commonplace with most encryptions like this." Batman replied, pulling out a pen from a pouch and writing down letters as he talked, "It's more likely the 'A's' within the second encryption are a substitute for the 'B's.' With that knowledge, we have the Caesar cipher's encryption: o-t-p-j-w." As he finished the explanation, the letters were written down below the initial code. "If we were to decrypt this message with brute force, we only have one possible answer, and the key is an alphabetical shift of minus five."

Eraserhead frowned, "Joker?"

Clark placed his hands in his pockets before cocking his head to the side, "Is that someone you recognize from Gotham?"

Bruce shook his head, bringing his gauntlet back up and tapping the holographic display. He searched the menus and searched for anything regarding the surname. He got his answer.

"There isn't anything about a 'Joker' villain in the national criminal database nor anything in GCPD's personal database." He tapped through a few more menus before continuing, "The few Japan databases I have access to have nothing on this either."

"Hold on a minute!" Tsuragamae stepped forward, an eyebrow raised towards the Gothamite, "You can view our servers? Since when?"

"I infiltrated it when I was finished with the Recommendations Evaluations, though I was under the impression I wouldn't need to use them." Bruce smirked at the officer, "Looks like I was wrong."

Bruce turned to the body on the floor, pulling his injector out of his pocket, "I'll need to have a sample of Snipe's blood in order to-."

He was stopped by a cloth tendril wrapping around his bicep. The student turned to the teacher who shook his head, "That's where you stop, Batman. We'll take it from here."

Bruce pulled away from the teacher with a frown, "I'm already involved, Eraserhead! We don't have time to talk about this. We need to figure out what was used on him and find the source."

"You did a good job thus far, but you were only called in because the package pertained to you. The rest will be handled by the police and an investigative hero agency." He glanced at Clark before continuing, "You and Kent are dismissed, Lane. End of discussion!"

_**Clark Kent**_

Lane clicked the roof of his mouth with his tongue before reluctantly storming towards the entrance of the apartment. The Kryptonian smiled towards the teacher and laughed nervously. "I'll, uh, make sure he takes off his hero clothes and doesn't try anything stupid."

The teacher looked back at the scene and nodded, "Please."

The American took off towards the door, meeting back up with Batman, who was currently walking up the stairs presumably toward the roof. Out of everything, Clark was just glad to be out of the room. In combination with his sight and hearing being bombarded, as well as generally being stung by the classmate's tasers, the smell of the apartment made him think the universe was out to get his five senses today. He made a vow then and there that his taste buds were _not _going to be tested today! Even still, he hadn't seen a crime scene like that before other than on TV. He didn't realize just how ominous it truly was to be standing in the same room as a dead body.

He looked to Lane, who looked less angry now at least. Which isn't to say he didn't look angry, but it wasn't anything more than how he usually carried himself. Clark was sure that he was going to put up more of a fight in the apartment like he did in the classroom with his hero outfit.

As they reached the door of the apartment roof, Lane pulled out a tool from his belt and slid it through the lock of it.

"You know, I could have picked you up and flown us both back to the school from the fourth floor. We don't have to go to the roof." Clark reminded.

Michael unlocked the door before swinging it open and moving through, "I'm not going back to the school yet."

Clark flew in front of the Gothamite, gesturing his arms in an 'X.' "Stop right there! I get that you feel responsible for this, but Aizawa told us not to involve ourselves." Clark placed his hands on his hips, "Do you even know what you're looking for?"

"There are only so many toxins that can leave the victim with risus sardonicus."

The Kansas boy couldn't help but give him a deadpan expression, "What is that in English?"

"His facial muscles were contorted into an uncontrollable smile, like a muscle spasm. This means there is potential to be a form of a tetanus toxin." The boy answered as he brought his gauntlet up to his chest and began tapping on the hologram projected from it.

"That was only part of the symptoms, though. You said it yourself, there is a chance it's a compound we've never seen before. We don't know what it's capable of if it is new, it might just look similar." Clark shook his head, "It doesn't matter what it was, you still aren't going to investigate anything! Or are you going to be a liar, too?"

"A liar?"

"You and I still need to talk."

"I never said I would talk with you after." He finally looked up at Clark, "You just assumed that if you came with me we would."

After thinking back on it, Clark had to admit defeat. He did assume.

"Still, I promised Aizawa I would stop you from going further." Clark moved forward, reaching to grab Batman around the upper abdomen, "So you and I are going to-."

"AGH!" Michael let out a yell through gritted teeth before Clark let him go.

The caped teenager fell to the ground, holding his side. The same side the Kryptonian struck him on when he punched him through the wall in combat training. Clark peered through his skin and muscle layers, looking through until he caught sight of a rib on his right side. It was bent inwards, poking at Lane's lung just far enough for it to be painful if pressure was applied. Clark searched the rest of his body for any other sign of injury. There was no other injury.

Clark bent down, frowning at the Gothamite. "Your rib is broken. Why didn't you go see Recovery Girl after our fight?"

"Who said you could use your x-ray vision on me?" Batman responded, landing both feet on the ground and pushing himself on his feet, "I'm fine. It's not the first time I've broken a rib."

"We're going back to the academy to see Recovery Girl."

"You don't get to make that decision for me."

"I'm trying to look out for you!"

"I never asked you to look out for me!"

"I know you never asked me to!"

"Then why the hell are you trying?"

"BECAUSE," Clark grabbed Michael by the shoulders, looking at him in the eyes, "Every time I look in your eyes, I can see how much pain you've been through."

There was a pause before Michael looked away. "You don't know anything about me."

"Because you won't _let _me know. I don't know what kind of life you've had before U.A., and I won't pry into more than what you want me to know. But at the very least, I want to be able to be your friend." Clark grabbed Batman's left arm, pulling him over his back. "So, I'm going to look out for you, even if you don't want me to. That starts with getting you to the school and hoping Recovery Girl hasn't left yet."

With that, Clark lifted himself into the air and headed swiftly towards the school. A bat on his back and the setting Sun behind them.

Luckily, Recovery Girl was just finishing packing up her things at the nurse's office when they arrived. After removing Lane's armor and undersuit top and Clark helping push the rib into position with his x-ray vision, the older woman gave him a kiss on the side and his wound was healed. She scolded Lane first, warning him that the next time he waited too long to be healed from an injury like that he might suffer more damage from internal bleeding. Then she scolded Kent for being too rough with his punches and for not checking on Lane right after the fight for injuries. Once she was done scolding them, she announced she was done for the day and ordered Michael to change out of costume once he felt he had enough energy to as she handed him some medicine in the form of gummies.

"You're lucky I had these out already, sonny. Your classmate, Midoriya, was just in here so I could make sure he was healed entirely." She shook her head as she placed the bottle of gummies in the cabinet. She closed the door to the cabinet, "Luckily, your injury wasn't too bad in of itself. You won't need another visit."

She marched out of the room promptly after, leaving the boys in the room. After a few seconds of listening to her footsteps, Clark could hear she had started descending the stairs from the floor they were on. Clark turned to Michael, who placed the gummies on the bed and stood up, marching towards the door to the hall.

"Hey, should you really be standing so quick after she healed you?" The Kansas boy pointed to the candy-like medicine. He knew from Midoriya's account they helped whoever ate them regain their energy at a faster rate. Since Recovery Girl's quirk only made the body repair itself faster, the downside being they expelled the same amount of energy to heal it, "Especially without eating those, I can't imagine you have enough energy to move around like that."

"I'm fine, Clark." He stopped as the door was opened all the way, turning towards him, "For real this time. Wait here, we can talk on our way out."

Clark smiled with a nod, "I'll be here, Bats."

There was a small groan from the Gothamite before he left. With Clark in the room by himself, he took a deep breath and stood from the chair he was sitting in beside the bed Michael just marched away from. He waltzed towards the window, which oversaw the front entrance of the school.

The setting sun colored the world around him orange and cast shadows in the direction he faced. He opened the window, leaning inside the frame and setting his head just outside. He took a deep breath of the air so he could let his smile fade. Down below, he could see All Might, Midoriya and Bakugo just at the gate with the Symbol of Peace behind Bakugo with his hand on his shoulder. Clark didn't even catch the back end of their conversation, but he wasn't interested in listening in anyways.

His mind was on other things. _I wasn't aware of just how many enemies Batman made in the short amount of time he was in Gotham. To anger multiple crime bosses at the same time and have someone like Scarecrow and 'Joker' target you at the same time as registering for a school might just be the dumbest thing you can do! _Clark sighed before shaking his head, _No, that's not it, is it? That is the reality of being a hero, always being a target of those who want to hurt others for their own goals._

The Kryptonian looked down at All Might, who was talking with Midoriya in his yellow suit with a smile on his face. "'The Symbol of Peace,' that's the biggest target around. How do you do it, All Might? How do you face the world with a smile without a care in the world? You're not indestructible like me, you're just human."

Clark turned away to the hallway where Michael was standing in his school uniform again. He cocked his head to the side, beckoning Clark to follow him. The Kansas boy held up his index finger towards the blonde before turning to Midoriya from the window and cupping his hands around his mouth.

"MIDORIYA!" The Japanese boy jumped, turning around and scanning the building before landing his eyes on Clark. They both waved to each other, "WAIT AT THE GATE, LANE AND I ARE COMING DOWN!"

Clark shut the window, turning and jogging to Lane before walking out and towards the stairs. At first it was somewhat awkward for Clark. He wondered if the blonde detective could tell if he was nervous.

"You were the one that wanted to talk."

_He can tell. _Clark laughed a little, scratching the back of his head, "This is the first time I've talked about this with someone else. I honestly never thought about what I would say if anyone found out about it."

"I haven't found out anything, yet." He replied as they reached the stairs, beginning their way down, "All I know is that you aren't like any of us. I don't know if that means gene splicing, magic or something else."

Clark stopped, turning to Lane with a chuckle. The blonde turned back just as he met the first landing. The alien waved his hands, "Magic? You really think magic exists?"

"It wouldn't be crazy to consider." The Gothamite answered before Clark continued walking, "You know a magic user already."

"You mean Diana." The taller American acknowledged, "She does like to say she knows magic. There's actually a phrase for people like that here."

"I didn't expect you to say something like that about your friend."

Clark slowed down a little bit and raised his hands in defense, "I didn't mean it like that, but when I was flying to the arena earlier I overheard her saying her bracelets are unbreakable. That isn't healthy in general, but for a hero-."

"I would agree with that if it wasn't for the fact she's telling the truth."

"I assume you have some undeniable evidence why that's true or something for it, right?"

"You know Diana well enough to know she isn't the kind of person to do that." He turned back a second time as they reached the ground floor, "Besides, her story has been straight the entire time with none of the telltale signs of a lie when she says it, not even subtly. It's solid conviction."

"It's hard to believe that enough for you of all people."

"It's hard to believe you find that ridiculous considering what you are."

Clark laughed, shaking his head as he took the lead, "I'm not falling for that again."

"Had to try." They were walking side-by-side now towards the lockers to switch out their shoes, "Still, are you in any position to deny her claims on the basis that they _seem _ridiculous?"

The Kansas native shook his head as he turned to his locker, Michael doing the same. "No, I guess that would be hypocritical of me."

"I'll keep this between us, since you want to keep it hidden." Clark heard the locker behind him close, which cause him to jump and look back. The detective was just inches away from his face, "I return, do the same for my secrets."

"What are you-?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Smallville. I was watching your eyes before, you used your x-ray vision from head to toe."

Clark paused to take a deep breath. He nodded, "I'll keep them a secret."

"Say it all. I don't want anydiscrepancies between what you're promising and what I _think _you're promising!" The boy glared at Clark in a way that was almost scarier than when he had the cowl.

Clark stood tall, matching Michael's level of ground he stood, "I promise to never tell anyone you're quirkless."

"And."

"I won't tell anyone you're Bruce Wayne."

There was another pause without anything being said. Only the Gothamite glaring at the Kryptonian. But, he did slowly back away. He turned towards the entrance of the school, throwing his bag over his shoulder and closing his eyes with a nod. Clark finished with his shoes and the two began walking towards the gate again.

Izuku waved to Clark and Bruce, jogging forward with a smile. "Kent! Lane!"

"Hey, Midoriya. I hope we didn't take too long getting down for you." The alien scratched the back of his head.

The native stopped in front of them before he shook his head, "N-no, you're both fine." He turned to the billionaire, his smile becoming timid. "D-does this mean t-that you're going t-to be joining us at the l-lunch table from now on?" He raised his hands and shook them in defense, "W-wait, maybe that was p-presumptuous of me! I'm sorry, t-that was kind of rude of me t-to-."

Bruce smiled and nodded to the shortest boy of the three, "Sure, Midoriya." Clark and Midoriya recoiled. Wayne turned to Kent, "If that's okay with you, Smallville."

Clark hesitated, but smiled back with a small laugh, "Now, why would I have a problem eating with a friend?"

"If all three of us are friends," Bruce began, turning to Midoriya again, "Let's find a good place to celebrate. My treat."

Midoriya stammered back, "Y-you want me t-to take the lead?"

Clark grinned, "Hey, you gotta show him that ice cream place you know, Midoriya! It's amazing!"

The shortest boy perked up, scratching the back of his head, "U-um, yeah, s-sure!" He slowly turned to the sidewalk outside the perimeter of the school, taking the nervous lead, "It's just a few b-blocks from here!"

Clark strolled beside his fellow American. With a smirk, he glanced back at him as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

_**Lex Luthor**_

Dressed in a suit and tie with his hands in his pockets, he watched as the pale and wrinkled boy who was only a year older than he was growled at the other man who managed to be an even lighter shade than him. Lex cursed himself for trusting that weasel, Cobblepot! Just two days in and the person the bird bastard recommended was already causing problems for his client. If it weren't for the fact the hero he killed had a troublesome quirk and was fairly high ranked for it, he would be advocating to have the clown killed himself. However, the wrinkled boy, Tomura Shigaraki brought this on himself.

"I don't see the problem here, leather-face!" Joker grinned wickedly, hopping on top of one of the tables and stealing the drink of one of the less remarkable crooks under Shigaraki's command. "You wanted me to prove myself as the right person to help lead your people to killing that square, All Night-,"

"All Might." The boy corrected with a growl.

"And I wanted to get my sweet fated one's attention! Heha!" He turned the glass bottom-side up, letting the alcohol fall through the air and land messily in his mouth. He quickly smashed the glass against the table, leaving a makeshift blade out of the shot glass in his black-gloved hand and rushed towards the boy. With the blade a mere inch from his throat, the alabaster man glared at him with his smile still present, "I'd say I killed two birds with one stone, but there's still time to make that three."

Lex clapped his hands together, getting the attention of both men, "I understand your frustration, Tomura. His killing of that pro hero brought a lot of heat."

"Which is why we should have killed him when he said he was quirkless like I said to! We don't need a fucking glass cannon class like him."

Luthor sighed in contempt, _Why does he have to talk like this is some video game?_

Deciphering the lingo, the bald man placed a hand on the bar counter, "Perhaps that's a strategy you may want to reconsider. Think about it a bit more carefully." He beckoned towards the Joker, who had an eyebrow raised towards Lex, "The clown is an absolute nobody, trust me. Since you had me go with him, I had the opportunity to see his handiwork and I can promise you there was no remote mention of the League of Villains at all. Just him."

"Get to the fucking point!"

"The heat is all on the unknown assailant they've reported naming themselves 'Joker.' This means they're focused on finding this single killer, not an organization." Lex checked his watch, thankfully he wasn't late to his meeting yet. One of the biggest bores of being the CEO of his own company was needing to attend marketing strategy meetings to ensure its effectiveness. "That means that if you do make a strike at the school again, like the original plan was, they'll assume it was the clown."

Tomura slowly turned back to Joker with a groan. The clown grinned back down at him and slamming the rest of the glass on the ground, "Heh! See, I did it all out of love! You would need it, too, considering who one of their students are."

"You're talking about the fucking Batman again?" Tomura stepped back, sliding onto a stool with disinterest, "He's nothing, a nobody. I'm not concerned with a cowardly player like him."

Luthor sighed, rubbing the top of his head, "You might actually want to heed that warning. Penguin told me a few stories about him. You remember Falcone, right?"

"Him and our organization's leader talked a little before we reached out to you." The gaseous bartender, Kurogiri, responded as he brought a broom and dustpan out from behind the bar. He began sweeping up the shattered glass. "He was killed shortly after incarceration."

"Before the Batman showed up, however, he had an iron grip over that city. He almost had majority control over Gotham's government." Lex turned to the flatscreen TV mounted to the wall which was set to the news and the end of the segment commemorating Snipe's life as a hero and a teacher. "One month was all it took to tear that down."

"That's why I have a proposition to make for you, see." Joker took over, wrapping one arm around the boy's neck. He outstretched his hand towards one of the spinning ceiling fans, staring at the light as he pointed, "Think about it, Tomura, buddy! All I _want _is to go face-to-face with Batsy. You want him out of your way so you can kill the walking muscle." He turned back to the Japanese man, pressing one finger on his chest and getting way beyond what Lex considered personal space. "Why, I'd say it's a match made in heaven."

"You don't have a quirk. What the fuck could you do against someone like that?"

Joker pulled out a large revolver which had a bullet chamber larger than the handle of the gun itself and oddly geometrically designed. He pointed to the TV where the segment for Cowboy Hero: Snipe, in which the same gun was visible in his hand as it was Joker's.

"I didn't need a quirk to kill him." He pulled the gun back, pointing it right at Tomura's heart with a grin that was widening to the point the scars on his cheeks began to spread apart, widening the smile further, "Want to see if I need one to kill you?"

There was electricity in the air as the silence filled the room. No one so much as swallowed their saliva. So, when he pulled the trigger and the hammer his the base of the gun, it was akin to a sudden alarm.

"Bang!" The clown rushed to his feet, laughing uncontrollably and swinging the gun around.

Shigaraki growled, placing his hand on a glass and activating his quirk, forcing the glass to decay into ash. All while glaring at Joker in contempt. He never said a word. The Gothamite jumped on top of a booth table and grabbing hold of the light over it to use to lean towards the League of Villains commander.

"Tomura, you really need to lighten up! Oh, I know," He tossed the pistol over to the counter. Upon crashing against the wood. A live round burst through the chamber, causing everyone in the bar to duck with the exception of the clown. Thankful to Lex and the rest of the patrons of the bar, the bullet stopped after it went through the TV on the wall. Everyone in the bar was alive. The clown pulled something small out of his back pocket and tossed it at Tomura, who caught it in one hand. "Maybe if you had some of _that_ you would want to smile more!"

It was chapstick.

The villainous recruiter threw the medicine to the side and rushed towards the clown, reaching out with one hand! Joker jumped down from the table, pulling another revolver from the back of his pants and pointing it directly at Shigaraki's forehead. Lex Luthor placed his head in one of his hands, mentally preparing to make another trip to America.

Behind him, however, someone cleared their throat. When Lex looked up, both men were just three feet from each other, but Joker had turned his gun over to the entrance of the bar.

Upon inspection, Lex was surprised to see what looked like a teenage girl with a quirk that seemed to give her the resemblance of a Cheetah. She had a dark purple leotard on under a skirt which seemed to be made of leaves tied around a makeshift rope drawstring which laid on her hips.

"Who the fuck are you supposed to be?" The Japanese man snarled.

The girl smirked, tilting her head slightly upwards. "My name is Barbara Ann Minerva. I have been in search for a League of Villains when I heard the gun shot. Might you be able to direct me to the organization?"

Lex waved his hand with a bored expression, "You're looking at it."

She turned back to the two pale men. Joker spoke up, skipping towards the girl and putting his gun back in his pants, "Lexy, is that any way to talk to a lady?" When he was close, he bowed with his right hand on his heart and the other hand stretched behind him. "Hello, Miss Minerva, was it? It seems you are fortunate to have stumbled upon this humble organization."

Her smile faded, looking back at Tomura, then Kurogiri, then Lex, then back to Joker. "This was not the grand alliance I was brought to believe."

Shigaraki sat back down at his barstool, sneering at Minerva, "Then fucking leave. I don't have time to convince a fucking nobody to join my cause."

Lex sighed, turning back to her, "Excuse my business partner, Minerva. He's been a bit agitated after someone kept pushing his buttons." He jabbed towards Joker, who gestured by covering his mouth, 'speak no evil.' "This group is a lot more than meets the eye. I assume that because you've been searching for this group so haphazardly that you wish to join it."

She nodded, "You would be correct, Mr…"

"Call me Luthor." He replied, finally turning all the way towards her. He was eager to finally have a civilized conversation after not having one for the rest of this meeting with the League, so he wanted to enjoy it as much as possible. "If you don't mind me asking, why is it you're looking to join? Call it a gut feeling if you want, but I feel like there's something more to you than meets the eye."

She nodded, "There is a student at U.A. who has earned a title I believe is unbefitting of her, I wish to challenge her for the title and the reward that comes with it."

"Oh, you and I are a lot alike in that regard!" Joker jumped in, placing an elbow on the bar counter and resting his chin on his hand. "Pray tell, what's she like to attract the attention of someone like you."

"Diana of Themyscira, an Amazonian princess who earned Hestia's Lasso of Truth and shortly left to man's world. She sullies the name of an Amazonian and-."

Joker leaned towards Lex, who was thinking the same thing he said, "You guys think I'm crazy? She's nuts!"

An orange hand came down between them, claws pushing themselves into the wood of the bar. The two turned to her, catching her growling and barring her sharp rows of teeth. She pulled the wood apart, throwing the chunk at Joker with enough force to send him flying back towards Tomura. He eventually stopped at the feet of the other.

The commander laughed dryly as the clown stared up at him. Then Joker started laughing, too. Shigaraki stopped laughing.

"That was a wallop!" He proclaimed before returning to his cackling.

Lex ignored him, turning to Tomura, "She seems more reasonable than _him _at least. I don't see much of a reason to turn her down, especially if this Diana girl has potential to be an issue."

Shigaraki scowled towards Lex, "This Diana slut isn't an issue either, All Might is the only concern."

"In that case, we have some extra muscle. No harm, no foul."

There were a few seconds of hesitation. It was just enough time for Joker to start regaining his breath with the few sparse remaining chuckles. He looked up to Kurogiri, who nodded towards him. He turned back to her, standing proudly with her hands on her hips. He clicked the roof of his mouth with his tongue, turning away from her as she looked on at his with pride.

"Fine but stay away from All Might!" He reached for his own neck, scratching it profusely until it turned red. "My master and I will be the one to kill that fucker! No one else will be allowed to do it."

With a sigh of relief, Lex looked back at his watch and stood from the stool. He patted Minerva's head with a nod, "Good luck with your magic lasso, kid." He turned back to Joker and Tomura, the former of which was looking to wind up chattering teeth beneath the latter's stool. "Joker!" The clown jumped back, a grin crawling on his face as he stuffed the toy back in his jacket. "Play nice and do as you're told from now on, understood?"

"Aye, aye, Captain Luthor!"

With a migraine and the desire to further himself from the ticking time bombs, Lex marched up the stairs and towards his car so he could maintain his public figure.

* * *

_**This chapter was more in line with the length of how most chapters should usually be. I am really glad I decided to make this a separate chapter, however, rather than tacking it on top of the previous chapter as there was a lot of things I wanted to be sure was right. Mainly the investigation and the codes within that. Please let me know what you thought about the investigation as a whole, I really wanted to make it interesting and seem like it unfolded in a way that was understandable for those who didn't know what a Bacon's Cipher or Caesar Cipher really was. That being said, I also made sure the encryptions themselves were still correct just because it was kind of fun learning about them and making them lol.**_

_**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and feel free to tell me what you all thought of the chapter! Hopefully I can try to keep the next chapters coming more consistently, too.**_


	12. Followers and Leaders

**Izuku Midoriya**

The bright and warm rays of the sun were a stark contrast to how Midoriya felt as he walked with Clark and Diana to the school. U.A. Hero Academy had a remembrance ceremony for Snipe and all the work he did for both the school and Japan with his work as a pro hero. All the students were lined in groups according to their classes, so class 1-A was all together. Clark, Diana, and Izuku met up with Michael on their way in so they all stood next to each other during the service. There were also a few people from news stations recording the ceremony allowed to be on school premises, though only because of the ceremony.

The service was led by principal Nezu, informing the students about the incident and giving his own thoughts and experiences with the Wild West themed hero before asking the teachers and Alumni of the academy to speak on it. The alumni that came to the podium and gave a few speeches about their time spent with Snipe as his students and helping them with their hero work. Each teacher gave a small statement, or in some cases a speech, about the things they remembered him by, including All Might. All Might even stood at the podium to give his own speech in his current hero costume, cape and all.

"I know this is a hard pill to swallow for most of you young students, that a great hero had succumbed to death at the hands of a villain. I know that a lot of you have questions about what this means for all of us going forward." He began, his usual smile nowhere to be seen on his face. "It is true, that death is a very common thing in this line of work. It is unfortunate and grave, but we must remember that it is not in vain! The hero that died this week decided he wanted to save the people we love every single day _despite_ the incredible risks it would entail. That is the calling of a hero, the same calling all of you have been drawn to. So, let us not dwell on the dark truth that he is no longer with us, but let us celebrate the great things he did while he was with us!"

The smile returned on his face as he placed his hands on his hips, "Let us remember that he went beyond! Plus Ultra!"

The students were told not to let the sad news "deter you towards your journey to becoming great heroes!" by the principal of the school, Nezu. Then, all the students were given leave to go to classes like normal once the ceremony ended. The news stations didn't waste time in rushing towards the teachers, though the focus was namely on All Might. It still was unknown by the general public if he really was a teacher at U.A. Hero Academy at this point, so the Japanese boy was sure that was the reason for _that _herding. Some journalists eventually turned to students for their takes on the events. Izuku turned to Michael to see what he thought of it but he simply had his hands in his pockets and looking forward as the rest of the group. Making it clear he didn't want to be disturbed, Izuku looked ahead himself to respect his space.

Unfortunately, some reporters and journalists didn't agree as they tried to get in front of the group of students. One man jumped in front of them and placing a microphone in front of both Clark and Michael. The man was tall with hair that was only beginning to turn from brown to grey in some roots of his hair. He had dark circles under his eyes and a suit which was put on very messily.

He spoke in English, which Izuku could luckily piece together and fill in the gaps enough to know what he was saying, "Perry White from the Daily Planet, the American people are dying to know about the few students that made it into the number one hero academy in the top class from our home country! I won't take too much of your time, just a few questions." He gestured to the hallway in front of them, "What are your thoughts on recent events?"

Diana almost recoiled, whispering to the group in Japanese, "This man reeks of tobacco. Can I dispose of him?"

"I'm with her on this." Michael concurred.

"Don't be like that, guys!" The Kansas boy shushed. "In a way, this is something we'll have to deal with as heroes. PR and all."

"I still agree with Diana."

Clark scratched the back of his head with a nervous smile on his face, "It's a terrible tragedy and a void that the whole city will never be able to replace." He said, switching to English for the reporter.

The microphone gestured towards Michael. He simply glared at the man until he continued.

"What about being students to the number one hero in Japan? You must have a few great stories to share!"

The black-haired student nodded, "It's a great honor to be taught by someone with as much experience as he has." Clark raised his hand, "But, we really should be going now-."

The older American turned to Michael, pulling out a yellow envelope from his jacket, "Just one more question! You're from Gotham City, right? Don't answer, I can tell from your demeanor you are."

Michael began marching forward. The rest of the group hesitantly followed.

"Hold on, I haven't-!" Perry was interrupted by Michael.

"You wanted one more question, you asked a question. Then, you answered it yourself. Don't waste our time anymore." He glared back.

Izuku raised a finger in the air timidly, "C-couldn't you be just a b-bit nicer about-?"

The microphone came between him and the blonde, the man's fist coming close enough to graze the Japanese boy's ear. He jumped back reflexively. The reporter paid him little attention. He opened the envelope, pulling out a photo and facing it towards the students and drawing the eyes of others once he continued.

"Hold on, kid! You _are_ the Batman, right?" The photo was blurry but there were two barely distinguishable figures on top of a rooftop. One was floating, with a light grey body with a red spot on the front of their shirt. To Izuku it was clearly one of the U.A. uniforms. The other figure seemed like a black shadow that had risen from the very rooftop. "The people know you're here now, but they deserve to know more about the vigilante who left people broken and bleeding on the streets. Like why you were on the rooftop of Snipe's-!"

He was stopped by a hand being placed on his shoulder. He turned around, meeting All Might's grin with a face of surprise. The number one hero gestured behind him with his thumb towards the exit of the building, "I believe all reporters were to leave the premises as soon as the service was over. You wouldn't be trying to trespass, would you, Mr. White?"

"Not at all, I was just asking one of your students some questions is all!" He turned back to the group with a nervous smile on his face, "Isn't that right…" The rest of the group turned to where Michael was standing, but he seemed to have disappeared without a trace. "Where did he go?"

"You seem confused, Mr. White." The teacher replied, tightening his grip, "To me that sounds like trespassing, but I'm sure you were simply asking for directions for the exit so I may help you from here on out."

"R-right. Thank you, All Might." He replied, visibly defeated. He was promptly escorted out of the building and the other students were finally able to make their way to class.

When they entered the classroom, they all made their ways to their seats. Michael was already in his seat and began a conversation initiated by Clark. Izuku wasn't paying much attention to it, however, as he was getting his things ready for class while his mind was preoccupied with the reporter.

He was stuck on the question the man was about to ask, 'why was Batman on the rooftop of Snipe's crime scene?' But that also meant Clark was the person flying across from him on the rooftop since they were together at the school when they met up with him. So, the question to Midoriya was now why Batman and Clark Kent were on the rooftop. There were multiple reasons why it could be, but only one stood out to Midoriya because of how scary it was to him. Batman made powerful enemies in Gotham and if he crossed the wrong person they might decide to take revenge on him.

That would include people he associates with-!

Izuku was interrupted by a hand slamming down on his desk, the owner of which being the explosive teenager he grew up with.

"Oi, nerd! Quit your mumbling before I make you!" He demanded, taking his assigned seat in front of Midoriya.

"S-sorry, Kacchan." The boy whispered.

He took a deep breath, looking back towards the Americans. Clark seemed to be getting on Michael for leaving us behind with the American reporter. The Gothamite didn't seem to acknowledge the complaint too much, but he did match eyes with Clark at least.

_Guess I'll have to ask them about it later._ The green-haired boy noted in his head.

Everyone was in the class and seated before the bell rang. Aizawa wiggled his way up to the podium, refusing to remove himself from his yellow sleeping bag. The class had gotten used to this sight in the mornings, the teacher habitually moving out of the sleeping bag only after the lunch break at the earliest. He, like every morning, started off with attendance. Once every student was accounted for, the class began.

Kind of.

Aizawa began wiggling towards the corner of the room, speaking as he grunted along the floor, "Today is the day to choose the representatives of class 1-A. Final decisions will be made before the lunch period, otherwise you all get to decide however you wish to." Once he was leaning against the corner completely, his eyes closed, and he presumably went to sleep.

There was silence in the room as almost everyone exchanged glances at the loose orders from the teacher. That was until Bakugou stood up on his chair, pointing to himself with his thumb.

"I'm class president! Anyone who disagrees can die!"

There was an eruption of contention throughout the classroom. It didn't last too long as the class gradually began challenging his declaration. It lasted until Clark raised his hand with his own suggestion.

"In America, we usually vote for our President of the country. Wouldn't it be best to leave it to democracy?"

Michael crossed his arms to lean on his desk before adding, "Though, they usually have a campaign to help convince others to vote for them." He glared out to the classroom, "Considering we've only known each other for a little less than half a month, people are more apt to vote for themselves or their friends without it."

Tenya perked up, raising his hand in the air as he stood, "We also don't have time for everyone to go so perhaps everyone who wants to be the representatives should make an argument to everyone to vote for them or whoever they think would make a good representative." He turned to Bakugou, "I'm sure this would satisfy you, right, Bakugou?"

The blonde clicked the roof of his mouth before marching towards the podium, "Fine, but I'm going first!"

No one argued, letting him march up to the podium. He began as soon as he reached the front of the class, sneering at the class.

"You better vote for me, or else," He made a gesture of slitting his throat with his thumb, "I'LL KILL YOU!"

He gained small obligatory applause from a few people, which caused him to sneer more as he stormed off-stage. Some eyes followed him to his seat, but things proceeded without much trouble. Aoyama stepped up, next. He turned to the class with a smile on his face and his hands gesturing toward his face by boxing it above and below his head.

"_Excusez-moi, _I believe the person that should lead should shine!" He declared, some glitter falling from the raised hand. He took his seat promptly and received even less applause than Bakugou. He didn't seem so fazed by it compared to the angrier blonde, however.

The next person to stand up was Tenya, who marched to the podium with almost robotic movement. When he reached the podium, he adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat.

"Get on with it, shitty glasses!" Bakugou groaned.

Tenya turned to him, gesturing with his karate-chop-esque gesture which had turned into something of an icon for him. "We allowed you to speak with respect! You should respect others to a similar degree!"

The blonde chuckled, crossing his arms and placing his feet on his desk. Tenya ignored it, unlike how he confronted Bakugou on the first day of school when he did the same thing. The blue-haired boy stood tall and with a stern face.

"I believe that we all should hold ourselves to a great standard as the highest regarded of our graduating class, and I believe we can all achieve this together. However, it takes a dedicated leader to guide others towards that standard. I believe we should take that into great consideration when we decide who we vote for as the person to represent us all as a class!" He bowed to the class, "Thank you for your time and I wish everyone else luck in getting their votes."

He got a more reasonable applause as he was the first of them to make a legitimate argument, even if it wasn't a direct advocacy for himself. In Midoriya's honest opinion, he kind of wanted to pick Tenya.

_Sure, it would be in my own interest to try to be Class President if I'm trying to be the number one hero like All Might. But, _he began to think back to his life. Izuku had never been the center of attention and had no experience being a leader in any sense. _Someone like Tenya or Kent would be more suited to be a leader. _

The next person that decided to walk to the plate was Tsuyu, which seemed odd to Izuku since she didn't seem like the type of person that might want to lead. However, the boy also gathered that she was really observant from the small conversations he's had and overheard with her. He was sure Tsuyu could do a very good job in all the responsibilities of a Class President if she earned the title.

She reached the podium, no change in her demeanor being evident. "I believe Michael Lane should be Class President."

Students began exchanging glances with murmurs and whispers filling the room between them. This didn't deter Tsuyu.

"Lane showed us his ability to strategize when he fought against Kent in the combat training, who I recall beat the Entrance Practical Exam record previously held by All Might. Even if he didn't defeat Kent per say, his strategy secured his team the victory."

Hagakure popped up, raising her hand in the air, "Kent even has super vision! Lane told me after the combat training that he figured out Kent could see through walls. He even saw me through my quirk!"

Kaminari scratched his head, turning to Clark, "Wait, does that mean you saw her nak-?"

He was interrupted by a book slamming against the side of his face thrown by the invisible girl who shouted, "Don't say it!"

This was new information to Izuku. The American told him what the title of his quirk was, but he had never heard of an enhanced body being capable of doing anything close to the extent of x-ray vision! Being able to see Hakagure, too, meant that he must logically be able to see things at a wider light wavelength than most people. It almost seemed like the range of his abilities were inhuman. A notion Izuku pushed to the side as it sounded ridiculous even in his head.

_After all, that would mean he was something like a monster or an alien. He doesn't look anything like that, though. Even if anything like Martians existed, they were little green men, not human-like with the ability to fly! _He reasoned with himself before turning back to Tsuyu who began to continue her reasoning.

"Besides that, he already has experience as a hero from Gotham City. If anyone should represent us as we become Pro Heroes, it makes sense it for it be someone with experience in it if that opportunity arises."

Everyone looked towards the American, seemingly convinced by that argument. Michael just seemed annoyed at that point, his arms still crossed and his glare directed at Tsuyu. There was a pause before he broke the silence.

"_Don't_ vote for me." He commanded, sternly.

There was more contention in the class. Clark smiled towards him in an attempt to reason with him, "C'mon, Lane, you can't not admit they have a point." He nudged the blonde who didn't seem to budge, "You could at least aim for Vice President. We could use your strategies!"

The boy looked to the Kansas boy, "I'm a _vigilante_ from Gotham City who 'left criminals broken and bleeding on the streets.' I don't think that's the kind of representation you want."

The class' mood soured and Clark didn't pursue further when he turned away. Clark seemed annoyed more than anything. He took a deep breath before he composed himself and that was left where it was.

"If that's the case," the pinkette of the class spoke up, standing from her seat and raising one hand and beckoning to Izuku with the other, "I'm voting for Midori!"

Izuku recoiled, pointing to himself, "W-w-wait, m-me! Why m-m-me?"

"You weren't half bad at the combat training yourself! Besides," she flexed her arm and placed a hand over her bicep, "it felt like you were going all-out like a real Pro Hero! You got everyone watching pumped up for their fights!"

"N-no, I mean, I d-didn't mean to stand out so m-m-much. Everyone else d-did well, too!"

Kirishima began shouting from across the room, "But you were manly as hell, Midoriya! The way you pushed yourself to the limits made me want to push myself even harder!"

The green-haired boy tried to downplay himself, but no one was listening. His place wasn't as their representative at the moment, he simply wasn't ready. He looked to some of his friends for support, but they weren't giving the support he wanted; Clark and Diana both gave him a thumb up when he really wanted a thumb down. Of course, Diana wouldn't stand between him and that position, she always took things in stride. Then there's Clark, who seemed invulnerable and impossibly strong. He wouldn't have any reason to be afraid of this position.

That's when it clicked for the green-haired boy. He stood, catching the attention of everyone, "W-w-well, I'm voting for K-Kent!" Everyone turned to the American while the Japanese boy spoke, "Tsuyu said it herself, he b-beat All Might's record in the entrance exams and s-seeing him fight firsthand, I can say t-that he's the most natural choice for the number one hero in the future…"

He trailed off as he said it. It was almost like admitting defeat from Kent. He looked back to the American, whose hands were raised defensively as he tried to downplay what Midoriya said just like Midoriya had tried to do. The abilities he had were just on another level compared to even All Might at times; even he wouldn't be able to carry the robot trap at the Entrance Exams at his peak in the same way Kent had, with what seemed like very little effort. In a world of heroes, the American meets the marks of what would be considered a superhero.

_Wait, he's American! _Midoriya perked up, observing the class as they had their discussions. _Lane said he was going to go back to Gotham after getting his Pro Hero License, which means Kent is probably going to go back to America, too. _This revelation that he would still be able to become the number one hero of Japan's ranking system was a large breath of relief. However, standing out among them now was important towards that goal still. That meant he would have to make larger strides than he was before to meet this higher bar being set by Kent.

He looked to Lane, who was observing the class discussions on the sideline, _Lane also sets the bar higher. It's not every day an urban myth enrolls in a school and the Batman is a popular urban myth among Pro Hero message boards. Just like how the American reporter was only truly interested in Batman, others will be, too. Whatever his quirk is, I have to stand out above it in order to have a chance at being the next Symbol of Peace._

He was brought out of his thoughts when Yaoyorozu clapped her hands with a nod, "I do believe we only have fifteen minutes until lunch, so we should start casting our votes!" She turned away from the class, lifting her shirt and using her quirk before turning around, shirt down, with a ballot box in hand. "Write who you're voting for on a piece of paper and after everyone votes the results of the polling will be written on the board."

The ballot box was placed at the front of the class on the podium and everyone took two minutes to get their votes in. Midoriya, though reluctant, cast his vote for Clark and took his seat. It didn't take long for Yaoyorozu to write down the results on the chalkboard.

Clark Kent had gotten first place, earning him the title of Class Representative. Surprisingly, second place went to Michael Lane, despite his wishes not to be voted on, earning him the place of Deputy Representative. The next three honorary mentions were Izuku himself, Yaoyorozu and Diana.

Without anyone calling out contentions with the results, with the exception of Bakugou who clicked the roof of his mouth, the lunch bell rang, and the class made their way to the cafeteria.

**Joker**

The news coverage of the school's ceremony gave Shigaraki, the leader of the seemingly small group of villains, the answer he was looking for. All Might, 'Japan's Symbol of Peace' was a teacher at U.A. Hero Academy. This would become the beginning of the foundation of their plan against the heroes, starting with All Might.

"See, Shallow-taki! The killing of that rootin' tootin' cowboy was just what you needed to start piecing together how to get at those heroes." The clown leaned forward from the tending side of the bar, getting right in the face of the boy with the dried skin, "Aren't you glad you didn't kill me now?"

He took hold of the glass in front of him, turning the glass to ash, "I still want to fucking kill you. There isn't much of a point to keeping a shitty quirkless pawn when I can find champions with better buffs!"

Lex Luthor set his own glass on the counter of the bar, smirking at the older villain, "Come now, Shigaraki. You can't exactly say that his efforts were useless anymore. He gave us valuable information about All Might and one of the students at the academy."

"What the fuck do I care about a student? All Might is the only one that matters, Luthor."

Joker clicked his tongue as he swayed a pointer finger to either side like a metronome, "Don't forget about the flying rodent, Shigaraki. He's important, too."

"The Bat Man?" The boy growled, "Why should I be concerned about him?"

A newspaper from a Japanese branch of the Daily Planet slid down the countertop in front of the two criminals. On the front page was a picture of a shadowy figure under the title, "BAT MAN IN JAPAN: HAS HE BROUGHT GOTHAM WITH HIM?"

Luthor responded, "Because it's confirmed he's here. If even half of what I've heard from Gotham is true about him, he's got potential to be an equal threat compared to All Might. At the very least, he's comparable."

"And you're trusting the clown with that responsibility?" He thumbed to Joker.

The clown placed his elbows on the countertop, smirking at Shigaraki, "C'mon, Carmex," the jab earned the paler man a sneer, "Just give me a chance! I'm full of surprises." The last sentence rolled into a chuckle.

"Actually, I'm somewhat interested to know how you're going to handle him, too." The rich boy inquired, "Shigaraki has enough networking and a few aces up his sleeve to warrant taking on All Might. Let's be forthright here, you're just some guy from Gotham. That's not enough to warrant taking on the Bat."

"Hm…" the Gothamite hummed, placing a finger on his chin. "I suppose that would depend on what our fearless leader decides to do." He turned to Shigaraki, "So, All Might is a teacher. How are you thinking on using that?"

"There isn't much of a strategy involved there with just that." He reached for his neck, beginning to scratch at his five o'clock shadow. "I need to know what the teachers' schedules look like."

"Is that so? If that's all you need, I can-."

"No, you won't!" Shigaraki grabbed the Gothamite by the collar of his leather jacket. "I don't need another unforeseen fucking setback because of you! You'll sit the fuck back until I decide to sacrafice you as the shitty pawn you are!" The teal-haired boy shoved the clown back, making him slam against the glasses and liquor behind him. He fell down against the glass with a chuckle as his rear-end landed, "Even if that means I decide not to use you in the first place, quirkless."

Joker looked back up to the Japanese villain's red eyes, looking down on him. Nothing had changed from when he was in Gotham. He was just the quirkless one. Not the one who killed an entire mob singlehandedly. Not the one who killed Snipe in his own home with a chemical he created!

"Just a quirkless loser, right? Heheheh…" He began to chuckle again, gripping the shelf behind him to pull himself back on his feet as his chuckle began to rise into sheer laughter. He began to limp towards the exit of the bar, "Well, if my services aren't required, I think it's about time I find my way around this town! Maybe I can find something fun to do in the meantime."

As he made his way to the stairs, Luthor simply watched without saying a word and without even looking at him. He placed his hand on the rail nailed to the wall. The blood from the glass in his arm making its way on the metal. The only mark he could make that would be visible to them.

He made his way out the door and into the alleyway where he embarked to find a way to blow off some steam.

**Clark Kent**

The disguised billionaire was the last to sit down with quite a large amount of food on his plate. It was easily triple of what Tenya was eating and had a bit more meat on it even after that. It was only a little less than double of what the Kryptonian was used to in America, but compared to the typical Japanese lunch, it was a mountain. The rest among them were Uraraka, Diana, and Midoriya with their own humble trays of food.

Uraraka laughed nervously, aweing at both American's plates, "Looks like it's true that Americans eat a lot, huh?"

"I don't know," Clark began, smiling towards the other American, "I feel like Lane is a bit of an outlier here."

The boy shrugged, taking hold of a piece of beef with his chopsticks, "It just so happens that lunch is on schedule with my regiment. So, I plan on taking advantage of that as much as possible."

"I understand wanting to keep to a regiment. Even I maintain a regiment," Tenya chimed in, his stern face unchanging, "However, this amount seems absurd even for an American diet."

"It works for my goals." Michael explained, taking a bite of another slice of meat before taking hold of a chunk of rice, "I've been using a regiment that rises in mass gradually, so by the time my body has fully developed my body can be at its greatest potential peak."

"You've thought about it that far?" Midoriya jumped in, eyes sparkling with his usual curiosity. "How could you know when to increase the amount of food to intake on top of which foods need to be added? That would also mean you would need to increase the amount of exercise you would need to do in order to maintain the same calorie intake." He placed his fingers on his chin, "But then the type of exercise would also need to be considered. In order to continue to be able to fight with the same amount of agility you seem to possess would also mean you would need to make sure your muscles didn't get too out of hand, which would limit the kinds of exercises you could do…"

He continued to ramble on, causing the others at the table to exchange glances and nervous smiles. Lane leaned forward, knocking on the table in front of him and bringing him back to this dimension. He apologized but the blonde simply returned to his meal.

"You're pretty observant, Midoriya." Uraraka pointed out, "I guess that's why so many people voted for you earlier."

"Speaking of," Clark began, turning to Lane, "I thought you said you didn't want to be a representative."

"I don't care either way," Bruce explained, taking hold of another bite with his utensils, "I just thought someone else deserved the spotlight more than me." He pointed to Midoriya after taking the bite, "Since you were the next runner up, Midoriya, I wouldn't mind giving it up to you if you wanted it."

"M-m-me?" He recoiled with one of his bowls in hand and the chopsticks in the other, "Why are you insisting on me?"

"I voted for you, after all."

Tenya looked towards the green-haired boy, "Lane's assessment wouldn't be wrong. Even I considered voting for you rather than myself."

Uraraka raised an eyebrow, "You didn't vote for yourself? I felt like you would have been a really good pick, Tenya."

He shook his head, "I felt like it wouldn't be right to vote for myself and that my own speech would be enough to convince everyone to vote for me."

Clark nodded, "Ah, I get it now!" He beamed before taking a bite of fried chicken that was marinating in sauce, "You were thinking that if you were able to remind them about the important marks of a leader, they would see that you have their best interests in mind."

"Precisely." He sighed, taking a bowl from his plate and taking a piece of fish from atop the rice underneath, "However, it looks like you and Lane were chosen to be our leaders. I have faith you two have what it takes to lead the class with all those things in mind as well."

"I concur!" Diana announced with a smile and nodding to the Americans, "You two seem to boast the confidence of individuals who can lead. Though, I can't help but be envious that I could not be the one to lead in battle."

"I'm sure you'll get that chance, Diana." Clark laughed a little, "I, for one, don't have very much experience leading people so I'm not so sure how I'm gonna do." He turned to the billionaire, "What about you, Lane?"

"I have some experience."

"What was it you led? If you don't mind me asking." Tenya asked.

His face turned to his food, the expression on his face growing grim. "I do mind." He took another bite of food.

Tenya nodded, "No worries. You have no need to explain yourself if you don't want to. No matter how grave your experiences in Gotham City."

The fake blonde frowned, looking back up at Tenya slowly. "What… are you talking about?"

Tenya stared back at him. Then he quickly stood up and bowed hard enough Clark was sure he wasn't going to be able to stop himself and break the table in two! It was then that the Kryptonian made the connection, Tenya thought he got his scars on his back from Gotham and that he was talking about what happened in the locker room the first day of school. His past which was 'better if you don't know.'

"I apologize for making assumptions of you and your experiences!" He shouted mid-postulation. "As someone striving to be your friend, I shouldn't assume anything of you nor the place you call home!"

There was a small awkward pause before Bruce picked up his plate and stood. "Sure." Was all he said before turning away and dumping the rest of his food away.

Clark turned back to Tenya, who simply slumped in his seat. The Kryptonian turned to Diana. She scratched the back of her head.

"I suppose that is my fault to bear. I should apologize, too."

Clark shook his head, standing up himself, "I'll talk to him. I am going to be working with him from now on, after all."

The rest nodded and returned to their meals. Clark walked out of the cafeteria, using his x-ray vision to track down where Bruce went. He found him marching up the closest staircase and heading towards a vending machine on the second floor. Clark followed, turning off his x-ray vision. Once he got to the middle platform of the staircase, he heard an object flying in the air towards him.

He brought his left hand up, catching the item and looking up at the disguised perpetrator of the projectile. In the Kryptonian's hand was a can of orange juice.

"For going to the trouble of following me." Bruce explained in English.

"You wanted me to follow?" Clark responded, conforming to the other American's language.

"No, I actually wanted some alone time."

There was a pause before Clark responded, "Try not to get mad at them. It's not as if they know any better."

"I'm not mad."

"Then why-?"

"I needed some space to clear my head. My experiences from then aren't exactly what I'd call good memories." He shoved his hands in his pockets, making his way down towards Clark. He walked past him, moving to prop himself against the wall. "You can tell Tenya it wasn't anything against him. It's just with that part of my past, then mentioning Gotham…"

"It reminded you of them. Your parents, I mean."

Bruce smirked, letting himself slide down on his rear end. "You looked me up, huh?"

"It's the second thing to pop up in search results after your reappearance in Gotham."

"I suppose it is."

Clark weighed what to say in his mind for a second. He could only think to share his own past with him, though. After a few seconds of weighing it in his mind, he reasoned that he would just find out eventually anyways if his previous deductive abilities were anything to go by. Besides, he couldn't just let Bruce continue to feel as defeated as he did. Not if he wanted to call himself a good friend!

Though, given his deductive nature, he still decided a bit of caution was necessary talking about himself.

"You know, I'm the last of my kind." He finally said to break the silence. He moved to the wall next to the billionaire, sitting next to him and opening the orange juice can. "I only met my father and my mother recently through some recordings they left behind when I was a baby." He took a sip of the orange juice before continuing, "I don't have as much of a connection to my birth parents as you did with your parents, but I kind of know how lonely it can be sometimes. I'm still just trying to figure out what I am."

"Looks like you're a step behind me in that regard, at least."

Clark chuckled with a nod, "I suppose I am."

"Just make sure when you figure that out you know that you should have the choice to choose what that is."

"You're almost talking as if you don't."

"Didn't." He corrected, "My path was decided long ago."

Clark frowned, turning to the billionaire, "You still have a choice, Bruce." The alien gestured to the building in front of them both, "That's why we're here, to make ourselves what we want out of ourselves. To make that decision."

"If only it was that simple." Bruce replied, pulling a smooth, round and bronze locket out of his pocket. At least, that's what it was underneath the black and multicolored stains which were clearly made by a fire. When he opened the locket, both his parents' photos were inside with the sides of the paper of their photographs charred. "You don't live the life I've led since their deaths and have the same kinds of opportunities as everyone else."

"This about what happened when you were away from Gotham?"

The billionaire didn't respond, but his silence said enough.

Clark's tongue was dry, but he proceeded, "What's so bad about your past that you can't tell anyone? Aside from your quirk."

He sat in silence for another few moments, but he sighed before closing the locket. "I can't tell them much of anything, not in good conscience." He halfway turned to Clark, "I'm only willing to tell you because of your set of abilities, but your guardians in Kansas are also potential targets to them. So even for you I can't say much in order to protect them. I was a part of a group, whose goal was hidden from me until it was almost too late."

Clark glanced up to Bruce, an eyebrow raised, "And that goal is?"

"The destruction and death of what they deem as corrupt civilization, like Gotham. They're willing to go to any extent to achieve that goal." Bruce frowned, looking towards the ground, "They almost did achieve that goal, too."

"How close were they?"

"Let's just say that had they not been stopped, at the same time I returned to Gotham it would have been burnt to the ground."

**Joker**

He was strolling down the alleys without any direction. What direction was there to go, anyhow? He wasn't given any orders by the dearest leader, so there wasn't anything he could do! The brat could do anything he wanted just because he had the permission of the anonymous big boss. That was the funniest part of all.

"So funny that I could DIE!" He kicked a loose can, launching it forward and towards the street. He didn't notice, however, the can almost hitting two people in front of him.

One was a man with a blade replacing both of his thumbs and a woman who was already cut and being held against the wall. The woman didn't have any visible quirk, just bland with brown hair and bright green eyes. The man swiped the can from the air, but accidentally caught it with the thumb-blade. He groaned, throwing the woman to the ground and yelling at her to stay where she was.

Joker looked to the girl as the man marched towards the clown. "Oh, I know how it feels to be the one without power."

She looked towards him, "A-are you a hero? P-please…"

The man looked back, "I said shuddup you dumb bitch! I'mma get to ya in a sec an' finish ya!" He began turning back to the quirkless clown, "As fer you, ya Pro Hero wannabe-!"

The man was struck in the face, blood immediately drawing from his nose. Partially because of the punch itself but also because a piece of glass dislodged from Joker's fist and was transferred to the tip of his nose. He stumbled back, recoiling from the strike and almost losing his balance. So, Joker took that opportunity to lunge forward and throw his foot forward, striking the man in the groin. He was sent to his knees.

"One thing I've learned in my time being quirkless, is that sometimes you need to grab that power! Hehe!" The girl smiled up at him, his smile beaming back towards her. "Especially," He struck the man's face again. Again. Then, again! "When that means…" The man fell to the ground, his head smashing a bottle that was beneath his head. Joker adapted, turning his punches into kicks. "Taking that power FROM SOMEONE ELSE!"

One kick turned into a stomp, which pushed the shard of glass into the back of the man's head! The stomps continued and with each stomp, the woman's smiled quickly turned into a face of horror. She was stuck in place, placed in further shock as the grey organ from her assailant's skull began speckling on the ground on top of the crimson puddle. Joker stopped striking the man, the smile still on his face as he glared towards the girl. She only snapped out of the shock once he began chuckling.

"It's the perfect irony for people like this, don't you think?"

She began shaking her head, trying to stand to run away but couldn't muster the strength. Her compromise was to crawl away, something Joker could only laugh at.

"You know, I was like you until a few weeks ago." He began striding towards her, leaning down and taking hold of one of her ankles, "Always trying to run away from my problems! Hoping the big heroes would save the day and make things right again." He began dragging her back into the alley, pulling her through the blood of the person that would have made her a pool of blood not one minute ago. "But just like you, no heroes came and I realized the truth behind them all. Behind every person, in fact!"

She tried kicking her feet, but it only made his grip on her tighter, "P-please! I-I-I don't want to die!"

When they were finally deeper down the alleyway, back far enough that the people on the street wouldn't hear or see anything, he let go of her legs and moved toward her head, grabbing her hair and reaching into his pocket. He shushed her as he showed her his own knife.

"What I found was that behind every person is a villain. The only question left to answer is how much it takes to turn them into one and how good they are at it!" Joker placed the blade on the ground in front of her, gripping at her hair tighter, "So, how long will it be before you become the blight against humanity you were meant to be? How bad will you be?"

The woman only stared at the knife, tears still streaming down her face. She tried shaking her head, but struggled due to the fingers entangling her hair and taking control over her head. He was about to apply more pressure, but was interrupted by a dumpster sounding behind him. He jolted up, pulling Snipe's signature pistol from his belt and pointing it towards a man with a plague doctor mask and in a ragged, patchy suit being held together with stitches and rope tied in knots occasionally.

Joker laughed a little, "Who the hell are you supposed to be?"

The man spoke in English, but was muffled by the plague doctor mask, "A friend who can appreciate your talent for creating fear." He turned to the girl, slumping towards her and spraying a gas towards her once he was close. She began coughing roughly and continued to even after the gas dissipated. "You want power so you can create the same fear you've felt your whole life, yes?"

The woman finally looked up at the man in the mask, finished with her coughing fit. What was shocked horror quickly turned to screaming and panic!

"MONSTER! YOU'RE BOTH MONSTERS! GET AWAY FROM ME! GET AWAY!" She screeched.

The man in the mask rose from his crouch, turning back to Joker. "Such a beautiful sight, is it not?"

The clown giggled a bit before responding, "That's a nice trick, for sure!" He stopped smiling, pointing the gun at the man again, "But, you ruined my punchline."

"Fair enough." The man bowed like an actor on a stage, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Jonathan Crane; Scarecrow! You may have heard of me."

"Ah, a fellow Gothamite!" Joker chimed, smiling towards him.

Then he pulled the hammer of the pistol back, preparing to fire it further, "I don't particularly like people from back home."

"Ah, but I like you." Scarecrow rose back up, turning back to the screaming woman with his hands behind his back, "My associates want to help your organization's cause a little bit. I advocated you as the middleman."

"Man, you are really _bad _at negotiating!" Joker chuckled, stepping forward and pressing the gun against his head, "Didn't you hear the news? Apparently, I'm just a quirkless pawn to that BRAT! Now that's two strikes on you. One more," the clown leaned forward, whispering to the doctor, "And you're out!"

"I think they would be satisfied with your own goals in this game, too. So, how about a trial with you as a lone entrepreneur?" He brought out a stapled stack of paper, showing only the blank side to the clown, "The brat needed information regarding the school's schedule, right? I got this from Snipe's apartment before police arrived, so you can easily play it off like you already had it. On top of that, I can give you some funds you can do whatever you like with."

"And what do I have to do with those funds, exactly?"

"As I said, whatever you wish. So long as you are able to prove your destructive capabilities, I'm sure the League would have no problem allowing you to pursue your goals as a separate entity. Do well, and I shall vouch for you." Scarecrow leaned forward, hints of a grin visible through the fabric of the mask, "Then, you and I shall be that much close to killing the Bat Man and showing him what true fear looks like!"

The grin returned to Joker's face, wide enough for the scars on his cheeks to sorely separate once again. He pulled the gun away and pointing it away from the fellow Gothamite with a giggle. He was about to respond before he was interrupted by the panicking woman throwing a brick at the two criminals' feet. Joker promptly aimed the revolver at the girl, pulling a trigger and sending a bullet through her heart. His grin never left his face and the ideas brewing through his head were somewhat overwhelming!

He turned back to Scarecrow, "I think it's time we showed this town what a real villain looks like! HehEHAHAHA!"


End file.
